THE woman jailed for keeping her sister-in-law as a naked slave is to have her appeal against conviction heard by the courts, The Press can reveal.

Mother-of-six Antonia Pearson-Gaballonie, 35, of New Lane, Holgate, York, was jailed last year for seven years for inflicting years of abuse on Veronica Sandeman who was her children's nanny.

The Press told last month how she had lodged an appeal, and a judge, Mr Justice Butterworth, was to decide whether it would be heard by the Court of Appeal in London A Court of Appeal spokeswoman said: "The appeal definitely will be heard, but it hasn't been listed yet, so we don't know when."

Her partner, Neil Pearson, 35, was sentenced to two years for aiding and abetting her. He is also appealing against his conviction.

Miss Sandeman, 26, was forced to clean while naked, made to eat dog food, whipped with a belt and beaten with a rolling pin.

Pearson-Gaballonie tried for more than a year to evade justice for her crimes by getting her trial delayed with one excuse after another, including an apparent suicide bid and overdosing on medication prescribed for stress problems she claimed she was having.

She also claimed she was pregnant, then that she had miscarried, and that she could not get childcare for her youngsters. But in September last year, the trial went ahead without her and the jury convicted her of six charges of causing actual bodily harm, one of false imprisonment and one of making threats to kill.

Miss Sandeman's former neighbour, Amanda Palmer, 31, said she was disgusted that Pearson-Gaballonie was appealing.

She said: "It is absolutely horrendous, and of course it means my evidence will be called into question again."

Miss Sandeman fled to the home of Mrs Palmer, who was her neighbour in New Lane at the time of the abuse, when she escaped from her abuser shortly after Christmas, 2004.