An Oxford magistrate has blamed a backlog of fines unpaid by criminals on red tape that hampers the courts' ability to jail fine-dodgers.

The magistrate, who is a prominent Oxford businessman and asked not to be named, said JPs were forced to "jump through hoops" before they could consider jailing a criminal who failed to pay a fine.

As a result, he said, victims were being failed by the system and magistrates were left frustrated.

He said: "When I first started, people were sent to prison at a very early stage if they didn't pay. Fines were taken seriously."

He said too many procedures had to be followed before a jail sentence could be considered and added that the threat of custody meant very little.

He said: "When a fine is levied, people should pay up or face prison straight away. Even a person on benefit can pay. Most of them have Sky TV or a mobile phone, yet claim they can't pay £3 a week towards a fine."

The JP said the fact that police no longer collect fines was not the problem, but said failure to collect compensation for victims was "dreadful".

Colin Clifford, head of court administration for the Thames Valley, said: "To send people to prison for non-payment of fines, justices need to be satisfied that all other methods of enforcement have been tried.

"Magistrates' hands are tied to some extent. I agree, in days gone by, you could impose prison sentences and fines were paid. People at the back of the court would see the first offender go down and they soon paid up."

Martha Williams, a spokesman for the Lord Chancellor's department, said more information-sharing between her department and the department of work and pensions should help courts track offenders in future.

A new private debt-collecting firm started work chasing Oxfordshire's fine-dodgers yesterday.