Elizabeth Winkfield was supported at court

But she is far from being a lone voice of dissent, as many pensioners across the country would testify.

Last month, hundreds marched on Downing Street to present a 35,000-strong petition calling for an end to the tax.

Police said there were 600 people but organisers estimated there were 2,000 pensioners calling for a new tax linked to ability to pay.

Elderly people in Aberdeen and Wiltshire continued to argue last week that their pensions are not increasing fast enough to keep up with council tax increases.

But what began as a lobbying campaign has moved into an area unfamiliar to many of the protesters - law-breaking.

The issue is more involved than saying 'We're just not paying it' Joe Brown National Pensioners' Convention Rebel pensioner fights on

Two other Devon pensioners have appeared before magistrates after refusing to pay, both supported by the new pressure group Devon Pensioners' Action Forum.

But the National Pensioners' Convention, which represents pensioners' groups throughout the UK, thinks non-payment is not the answer.

President Joe Brown told BBC News Online he admired Elizabeth Winkfield and appreciated she had generated publicity on the subject.

"But the issue is more involved than saying 'We're just not paying it,' he said.

"The councils need money raised from the tax to fund social services which old people and those on low incomes need."

Burden

He said large council tax increases should be met by central government funds and by increasing business rates.

"Pensioners will share their burden through income tax and general taxation, which is based on ability to pay."

The government is currrently reviewing the council tax system, amid speculation it it to replace it with a mixture of income and property taxes.

Any change may come too late to save Miss Winkfield from prison, after she was ordered to pay the �99 she owes and �10 costs.

Outside court, she said: "Even if I was a millionaire I wouldn't pay it."

Many pensioners want council tax reformed

Other Devon dissenters include retired social worker Sylvia Hardy, 71, from Exeter, who has only paid the increase of 1.7%, equal to her rise in pension.

She is due again before the city magistrates on 25 February but has pledged to go to jail rather than pay.

And David Richardson, 84, of Haytor, has been ordered by magistrates to pay �70.20, plus �30 costs, after withholding the increase in tax from last year.

This anger in Devon is equally evident in other parts of the UK.

Pensioners staged a protest in Aberdeen last week as the north east of Scotland saw the largest council tax rises in the country.

About 50 people took part in a march to voice anger at the 8.6% increase, which was backed by city councillors.

In Wiltshire, more than 200 retired people gathered last week to protest against council tax rises and some even called for a return to the poll tax.