Stressed mother chooses jail 'for a break'May 10 2005 at 04:15PM
London - A mother-of-three is to spend three months in jail instead of paying a parking fine to get a rest from her "demanding" children and "lazy" husband.
Maria Brunner waved to neighbours as police drove her away for not paying a £50 fine that had risen to £2 500 because it had been left unpaid.
"She opened the door and seemed really happy, if not relieved, to see us before asking us to take her away and lock her up," said one of the arresting officers from Poing in Germany.
The 38-year-old said she had had enough of scraping a living for her family as a cleaner every day while "my lazy husband sits on his backside doing nothing".
She added: "As long as I get food and a hot shower every day, I don't mind being sent to jail. It means I can finally get some rest and relaxation without having to cook, wash and clean for everyone."
Brunner said she only found out she owed so much money when she got a letter from public prosecutors saying she would be jailed if she did not repay it immediately.
She says her unemployed husband, 35, hid the original fine from her that had been sent after he parked badly while driving her car.
"At first I was really worried about it, because I knew we did not have so much money, but then I looked at it as a chance to get away for a while," she said.
A police officer added: "She repeatedly thanked us for arresting her and smiled and waved as she was driven off to jail."
But her stay in prison may be cut short as her husband is desperately trying to raise the money to pay off her fine.
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