Sex in the Jacuzzi heiress sent to jail

A member of the Pilkington glass family who had sex in her Jacuzzi in full view of neighbours has been jailed for six weeks.

Heiress Julia Pilkington, 39, cavorted naked in her garden as part of a "mad vendetta" against fellow residents of a marina development.

She was originally ordered to do 180 hours community service after being found guilty of harassing her neighbours.

Pilkington was yesterday found guilty of failing to complete her community punishment order and was sentenced to 42 days in prison.

Portsmouth magistrates' court heard that when the vicar's daughter was ordered to clear litter from a forest she stormed off after refusing to swap her mini-skirt, low-cut vest and gold flip-flops for overalls.

She claimed being asked to wear overalls was sexist and against her human rights.

She also failed to turn up for another session after claiming her 19-year-old whippet was sick - yet a vet could find nothing wrong.

Pilkington, granddaughter of the late Lord Harry Pilkington, chairman of the glass firm, was handed the court order in November 2002.

Judge John Woollard said: "You were made the subject of a community punishment order for what was a sustained harassment campaign. I told you what would happen if you failed to comply with it.

"You ignored the allegations made by your neighbours in a highhanded way and it has carried on with the way you've dealt with the probation officers."

The judge had heard how Pilkington refused to speak to probation officer David Dumper about refusing to wear the overalls unless she had a witness and a dictaphone. The probation officers felt they could no longer work with her. They had even offered her the chance to work in a charity shop but she refused to touch other people's clothes.

Forestry Commission worker Tina Pitman told the court she was one of the supervisors on the day Pilkington was meant to clear the forest. She said: "Miss Pilkington was wearing flip-flops, a small vest top and short skirt. I explained her clothing wasn't appropriate because of adders and ticks in the forest. It was also inappropriate because we had a large male workforce. She said it was against her human rights to wear overalls on a hot day."

Pilkington, who managed to complete 98 hours of community service in 15 months, drove to the court in a black Mercedes four-wheel drive.

Giving evidence, she claimed she was victimised by probation staff.

During her 2002 trial neighbours complained she regularly gave them "an eyeful" by cavorting naked with her boyfriend in the hot tub in her garden. One neighbour, university lecturer Dr Sheena Mitchell, told the court she and her husband often witnessed her having sex in the spa. When she confronted Pilkington on the matter she replied: "Don't you ever have sex, you silly whore?" In court Pilkington had claimed she was the victim of jealous neighbours who targeted her because of her wealth.

Sentencing her on four charges of harassment Judge Woollard accused her of "breathtaking arrogance" towards the neighbours. As well as community service, he ordered Pilkington to pay £7,000 costs and placed a restraining order on her for five years. This forbade her from returning to her former £250,000 home at East Lake Heights, Southsea.

Pilkington, who still lives in Southsea, receives £2,000 a month from a trust fund. Her former neighbour, Victor Childs, said today: "This jail sentence is richly deserved. The community service order was a joke which any fool could have carried out. But our Lady P was too snooty to help the aged and poor."