A woman who went on the run for more than eight years following a serious assault has been jailed after handing herself in to Harrow police.

Mary Whelan fled to Ireland after seriously injuring a man during a pub fight in The Lough Inn, in Belmont Circle, on May 24, 2004.

The victim lost his spleen as a result of his injuries, and Whelan was placed on Harrow Police’s most wanted list.

But following renewed appeals for her whereabouts on Crimewatch earlier this year, and with officers closing in on her whereabouts in Tallaght, Dublin, the 62-year-old handed herself in.

She was arrested at Stansted airport on March 11 after contacting police to disclose her location.

Whilst she was on the run, Whelan was charged with conspiracy to commit violent disorder and was found guilty in her absence at Harrow Crown Court in August 2005.

Following her arrest in March, she was yesterday (Tuesday) sentenced at Harrow Crown Court to two years in prison.

PC Martin Robinson said: "This is one of a number of cases where suspects have been wanted for crimes in Harrow for several years and have been traced and arrested by the unit in the past twelve months."