Data obtained by the Howard League for Penal Reform shows courts in Suffolk imposed custodial sentences in 3.6% of the cases they heard in 2011 compared to the national average of 3.8%.

However, the figures more than double those recorded in Warwickshire, with just 1.5%, and 1.6% in Northumbria.

Magistrates handed out 14,589 sentences to men, women and children during 2011, of which 519 were custodial.

Overall, magistrates’ courts in England and Wales reduced their use of custody by a quarter between 2001 and 2011.

Frances Cook, chief executive of the Howard League for Penal Reform, said: “It is pleasing to see that magistrates’ courts are sending fewer people to prison overall than they have in the past.

“However, one cannot ignore the striking disparity in sentencing trends between different criminal justice areas.

“A short-term prison sentence is a catastrophe for everyone.

“It does not help change the life of the person sentenced – indeed, it is likely to compound issues such as drug addiction and make them more likely to re-offend.” The maximum sentence a magistrates’ court can impose is a six-month prison term, or up to 12 months in total for more than one offence.

The statistics have been published as Ministry of Justice figures show that short-term prison sentences are failing to cut crime.