A woman who repeatedly failed to pay her council tax has been given a suspended jail sentence.

Hilda Marshall currently owes £1,316 to South Oxfordshire District Council having not paid council tax for two years.

The 47-year-old, from Edinburgh Drive, Didcot, cancelled repayment plans, failed to turn up to court hearings and was eventually arrested.

At Oxford Magistrates’ Court on Monday, prosecutor Nigel Shepherd said the unpaid bills dated from April 2008 to March 2010.

He added: “We’ve had numerous payment arrangements with her that have not been dealt with.”

He said a £70-a-month repayment plan lasted just three months before the defendant terminated it in September.

Marshall, who told the court she had financial difficulties, agreed to pay £40 a month to the council or face four weeks in jail. The suspended sentence remains in force until the council tax debt is paid off.