Slough's residents are being warned not to ignore their council tax demands - after the authority caught up with three people who had not paid for between 10 and 20 years.

One man had avoided paying council tax since 2008 and had amassed a debt of £10,752.70. After numerous letters and summonses which were ignored, the council tracked him down and applied for a committal hearing.

He paid the debt and admitted he thought the council would not bother with him after all that time.

A second man had not paid council tax since 1997, even moving house to another town in an attempt to avoid the debt of £20,071.81. After being tracked down via social media to his new address, he was convicted of culpable neglect and received a 90-day suspended sentence and was ordered to pay £100 a month or risk jail.

A woman who avoided paying Council Tax for 15 years building up a debt of £11,963.95 was found guilty of culpable neglect and has until December 15 to pay the debt in full or risk a 90 day jail sentence. She had claimed she did not know she had to pay it.

Councillor Sohail Munawar, leader of the council said: “These cases are extreme but they show our commitment to ensuring people who can pay do so.

“We offer a whole range of help for people if they are genuinely having difficulty paying their council tax; all they need to do is contact us."

If you need help paying your council tax please call 01753 475111 or email counciltax@slough.gov.uk