A Faringdon woman who failed to pay more than £5,000 in council tax was given a suspended prison sentence.

Samantha Norman, 38, of Town End Road, was given a three-month suspended sentence after she admitted failing to pay her council tax arrears when she appeared at Didcot Magistrates' Court on Wednesday.

Magistrates heard Norman failed to contact the Vale of White Horse District Council about the debt, which totalled more than £5,000, between April 1, 2004, and March 31 this year.

They decided to suspend her jail sentence, providing she starts to pay back the money she owes at £40 a month from November. If she doesn’t, she will go to prison. Norman ended up in court after the council attempted to recover the debt from her home.

Bailiffs visited her house but found no assets high enough in value to cover the money owed, which led to her being prosecuted. Jerry Patterson, the council's executive member for finance, said: "The less people we have who fail to pay on time, the better, as we would be able to spend less money on recovering the debt and more towards providing better services."