Paris lands house arrest deal thanks to 'medical condition'

Jailed socialite Paris Hilton was released from prison today due to a "medical condition" and will spend the rest of her sentence under house arrest, the sheriff’s department said.

The hotel heiress served just three days of her 45-day sentence at the Century Regional Detention Facility in suburban Los Angeles for violating probation in an alcohol-related reckless driving case.

However, LA County Sheriff’s department spokesman Steve Whitmore said her time in jail totalled five days - explaining to bemused reporters that she arrived just before midnight on Sunday night and left just after midnight this morning.

The 26-year-old has been fitted with an electronic ankle bracelet and will now serve the remaining 40 days of her sentence under house arrest in her luxurious pad.

The star of 'The Simple Life' reality TV show pleaded no contest to a reckless driving charge in January and was sentenced to 36 months’ probation.

When she was later pulled over by the California Highway Patrol, Hilton was told that she was driving on a suspended licence and signed a document acknowledging she was not to drive.

She was then pulled over by sheriff’s deputies on February 27 and charged with violating probation.

During her stay, she was held in a special unit where she was spending 23 hours a day in a solitary cell, her lawyer Richard Hutton said.

Reports in the US said she spent the first two nights in jail crying in her cell.

After her first night in jail, Mr Hutton said Hilton was doing well under the circumstances.

Last night, Hilton’s friend and Simple Life co-star Nicole Richie said she feared she might also be jailed.

The 25-year-old pleaded not guilty in February to driving under the influence on December 11.

Officers stopped her after she was spotted driving the wrong way on a Los Angeles highway, and police said she had admitted smoking marijuana and taking Vicodin.

She faces mandatory jail time – 90 days to one year – if convicted under California law.

She told David Letterman on 'The Late Show': “I’m just keeping my fingers crossed.

“Of course, I’m scared also, but, you know, I’m willing to face whatever consequences come my way, and I take responsibility for what I’ve done.”