[Cyclefrance]

'Tough on crime - tough on the causes of crime!' - so goes the government mantra.

So today we had the embrassment of a 69 year old woman jailed for 3 months for refusing to pay her Council Tax (local government charge for local services), teh refusal being brought about by the fact that the street where she lives has transformed into a breeding ground for crime and drugs.

The woman had previously been commended by the Home Office for the work she had done to help tackle these problems in her locality.

No chance of a reduced sentence either because local government convictions don't qualify for such treatment.

Probably a good thing for the government that a mysterious benfactor paid her tax bill later today. Apparently if a third party offers to pay up the council just has to accept their payment...