Mother jailed over errant son's court costs

A mother who fought to have her teenage son locked up to stop his persistent thieving has been jailed herself after refusing to pay his court costs.

The 37-year-old woman had begged police and social services to lock up her drug-using 14-year-old son, who had committed several burglaries to fund his addiction. She said he would not respond to "soft" treatment and needed to be detained in a secure unit.

Her pleas, over a period of 18 months, were ignored and she is now serving a seven-day jail sentence after refusing to pay his pounds 40 court costs.

Speaking from Eastwood Park Prison, Wiltshire, the woman, who cannot be named to protect the identity of the boy, said: "Me being in here is wasting taxpayers' money. All the magistrates had to do was help my son by locking him up."

The boy was expelled from one school, ran away from two others and failed to turn up to a fourth. He had sold stolen videos and televisions to pay for drugs after "falling in with the wrong crowd", she said. Despite attending a number of meetings with social services representatives, his mother, who lives in Chippenham, failed to persuade authorities that he was "totally out of control."

After his first court appearance, she wrote begging for the boy to be committed to a secure unit. Instead, magistrates imposed another 12-month supervision order and ordered his mother to pay his costs

The woman's brother said: "This is outrageous. While he roams the streets causing trouble, my sister - who has never broken the law in her life - is behind bars."

A spokeswoman for Wiltshire county council said: "It is the courts that decide on sentences. There are strict guidelines as to when young people can be put into secure accommodation and his offences don't fit those criteria. He is currently with experienced foster carers who have dealt with many children similar to him in the past."