Council tax rebel faces jail date

Ms Hardy said she was prepared to go to prison

A 73-year-old woman faces jail after failing to comply with a court demand to pay her council tax.

Sylvia Hardy, from Exeter, Devon, has not met a 56-day payment deadline imposed in June to settle the £63 bill plus court costs.

Magistrates have been told that no payment has been made and Miss Hardy will face court again on 26 September.

She was given a seven-day suspended jail sentence at an earlier hearing for failing to pay.

The former social worker could become the first council tax rebel to go to jail.

Ms Hardy, of Barrack Road, Exeter, is refusing to pay the outstanding cash she owes Exeter City Council, saying her pension cannot keep up with the rises in council tax.

Passing sentence in June, the chairman of the bench in Exeter had urged her to pay the outstanding amount and not become a martyr.