A retired social worker today became the first woman pensioner in Britain to be jailed for refusing to pay her council tax.

Sylvia Hardy, 73, from Exeter, Devon, was jailed for seven days by the city’s magistrates for defying an earlier court demand to pay £53.71 arrears.

She described the tax as a "daylight robbery" and, in court, told magistrates that the charge for her two-bedroomed flat had risen by 50 per cent since 1995, while her pension had only increased by 1.7 per cent a year.

Miss Hardy said she was making a stand both for herself and hundreds of thousands of pensioners forced into financial difficulties.

She explained in court that when the increase in her annual charge again outstripped the rise in her occupational pension last year, she refused to make up the difference and instead calculated her own bill linked to her pension. The shortfall was £53.71.

She told the court: "Letters and lobbying to MPs and councillors have fallen on deaf ears and all that is left is to take direct action, whatever the consequences. Throughout history, people have fought to change laws which are unjust, and often the only way to do this is to break the law or ignore it and to accept the punishment.

"That is why I am appearing here today to accept my punishment for desperately trying to salvage my ever-reducing quality of life.

"We are trying to bring home to central government and local government that if something is not done very soon to put right the many injustices the people of this country have to suffer year on year, the normally docile English people will say enough is enough and will all gather together in mass civil disobedience."

Miss Hardy said she had sensed for some time the anger which was in evidence in the community, adding: "I feel that an uprising is not far away."

She went on: "If the sacrifice of my liberty for seven days does anything to force politicians to begin to serve those who elected them to office, it will be worthwhile."

Miss Hardy said those with incomes just above the cut-off point for means-tested handouts were being subjected to discrimination and this was "totally, totally unfair".

She continued: "Even now there are several pensioners in other parts of the country who are already in prison or about to be committed because of the obscene council tax demands.