A 53-year-old woman who texted a topless photo of a friend as an act of revenge has escaped a prison sentence.

Rhoda Mazza, of Buenos Ayres, Margate, pleaded guilty to sending illicit images after sending the picture to a mutual friend.

Mazza had known the victim for a number of years after taking her in as a 15-year-old; the teenager then struck up a relationship with her son.

But the relationship ended when Daniel Mazza, then 24, was sent to prison in 2006 for brutally stabbing to death David Gavin.

Defending, Paul Shingleton told the court the mother and her son's ex-girlfriend became in touch again following an inheritance payment Mazza received following the death of her father.

The pair then became good friends and the woman went to visit her ex-boyfriend in prison, and he asked her to send naked photos to him.

She declined three times but eventually she allowed Mazza to take 25 snaps of her on the proviso they were deleted from the mobile device after she had printed them off in Boots.

But an altercation with the woman's father in the street led Mazza to send one topless image to a mutual friend, who later showed the victim.

The distressed victim alerted police and they found the device at Mazza's home, together with a small quantity of cannabis.

Mr Shingleton said: "She knew it was wrong and she should have deleted the image. She is of good character and her last convictions were many years ago."

Magistrates sentenced Mazza to 30 days imprisonment, suspended for a year. She was ordered to pay costs of £85 and compensation of £135.