Matthew Johnston, 54, served on three trials at Blackfriars Crown Court over a two-week period, The Guardian reports.

Mr Johnston, who has only a small amount of hearing through a cochlear implant, was able to follow the trials by reading subtitles from courtroom stenographers, and participated in jury deliberations by lip reading and speaking.

He told The Guardian: “It’s a big thing for me … We don’t want to turn our backs to society, we want to be part of society. We want to feel included. I feel great that I can be one of a jury.”

A deaf man was included on an Irish jury for the first time in 2017, but the case did not proceed to trial. Deaf people have previously served on juries in Australia and the US.

The law in England and Wales does not allow for sign language interpreters to sit in on jury deliberations, which has normally disqualified deaf people from being jurors.