AXE killer Janet Charlton has been told she will not have to pay the hefty court costs of her defence -- despite having £64,000 in the bank.

Charlton, who hacked former Harwood businessman Danny O'Brien in the head and upper body during a bondage session, has been given defence costs from public funds.

The Recorder of Leeds, Judge Norman Jones QC, said it would have been "grossly unfair" to make her pay.

But the decision has been condemned by Mr O'Brien's 72-year-old mother, Elizabeth, who is still reeling from Charlton's decision to lodge an appeal against her five-year sentence.

She said today: "This is disgraceful. I'm amazed that a court could rule in this woman's favour. She should be made to pay."

Charlton, aged 36, was cleared of murder but convicted of manslaughter following a six-week trial at Leeds Crown Court earlier this year.

She hit 41-year-old Mr O'Brien 20 times with an axe while he was handcuffed, gagged and blindfolded in the bedroom of his home in Midgley, West Yorkshire, last May.

Although it has not been revealed how much the defence fees total, they are far greater than £64,000.

At Bradford Crown Court, the prosecution applied for Charlton to contribute to the costs as she has cash from her divorce settlement and the sale of her Huddersfield home.

John Elvidge, defending, said that, by law, the first £100,000 tied up in a defendant's house should not be seized to pay costs.