FORMER vice girl Carina Matysiak has been given a last chance by a judge after he heard how she has cleaned up her life.

The 24-year-old who, at one stage, had a £500 a day heroin and crack cocaine habit, has been drug free for four months and not returned to the streets to earn money.

And, after hearing she had not been involved in further offending, Judge Tom Longbotham told her she was getting her last chance.

He said: "There comes a time in any case that there has to be complete finality of the matter. This is your last chance."

Matysiak had appeared at Swindon Crown Court in June after failing to complete a probation order imposed after she failed to complete a drug treatment and testing order for blackmail.

After hearing how she wanted to clean up her life the judge put off sentencing for four months to see if she could remain true to her word.

Matysiak, of Axbridge Close, Park North, has numerous convictions for prostitution and is one of a number of women banned from the red light area of town after the council got injunctions against them.

She had twice been jailed for breaching it but a car crash earlier this year left her with spinal problems and she has again vowed to sort out her life.

Last year, when she was first jailed for breaking the injunction, she made a plea to keep her liberty saying she was turning her back on prostitution. However she was jailed and following her release from prison she continued to breach the injunction and was arrested at least five times in the months leading up to November last year.

At the latest hearing she was convicted by a jury of four counts of blackmail after a trial in autumn 2002. She was put on a residential drug treatment and testing order but that failed when she was expelled from the hostel.

A few months later a court imposed a two-year probation order but she was only seen by the service four times.

She was given an 18-month probation order and told sentence would be deferred as long as she remained drug-free, did not become a prostitute and remained free from offending but if she fails she will be facing custody.

Tina Clarke