Seven men on trial for alleged sex attacks on tiny Pitcairn island – home to descendants of the Bounty mutineers – might have to wait until next year to learn if they will face jail, British officials said today.

The mayor of tiny Pitcairn Island – home to the descendants of the 18th-century Bounty mutineers – yesterday became the first of seven island men to stand trial for sex abuse, in a case that has split the isolated community.

Judges and lawyers are putting the final touches to preparations for a string of sex abuse trials that get under way on tiny Pitcairn Island later this week.