A MILLOM woman has been jailed after flouting the punishment she received for her role in Cumbria's biggest ever insurance fraud.

Natalie Edgeler was one of 35 people sentenced by a judge in November for their involvement in a crime which was said to have been worth £600,000.

Dubbed "cash for crash" it involved 27 suspicious vehicle collisions and dozens of bogus insurance claims. North Cumbria-based criminal Mark McCracken, who hid behind fake identities, received a seven-year jail term for masterminding a criminal enterprise.

This was smashed following a lengthy and painstaking Cumbria police probe.

Edgeler, of Devonshire Road, Millom, initially denied being involved in the fraud, but eventually admitted dishonestly making a false representation.

At Carlisle Crown Court the 28-year-old received a suspended nine-month prison term and 100 hours' unpaid work. Three other people from Millom and three from Barrow were also sentenced for roles in the scam.

But Edgeler was back in the court dock yesterday, when she admitted breaching the order.

"In three days it will be 10 months since Your Honour sentenced (the defendants)," barrister Tim Evans said in his address to Judge Peter Davies.

"In that 10 months she has done zero of the 100 hours Your Honour imposed. There has been zero performance.

Edgeler, a mother-of-two, had initially claimed she was not fit to do any community service. However, she had since held down employment and been deemed suitable for unpaid work.

Alison Mather, defending, said Edgeler had tried to contact probation about her situation, but conceded: "Those efforts do not appear to have been enough."

Ms Mather attempted to persuade Judge Davies that it would be "unjust" to activate the prison term.

But the judge responded by saying Edgeler "hadn't come close" to proving why she should not be locked up.

Jailing her for six months, Judge Davies told her: "You were part of a vast fraud. You weren't the key player by any means but you were knowingly part of it."

He added: "I will not allow my court orders to be ignored and abused in the way you have done."