Hotel heiress Paris Hilton has narrowly avoided jail after being given a one-year, suspended sentence after she pleaded guilty to drug possession and obstructing a police officer.

The 29-year-old socialite was also fined $2,000 (£1,280), and ordered to do 200 hours of community service.

The decision follows her arrest by traffic police on August 26th in Las Vegas.

A car in which Ms Hilton was a passenger was stopped, with police finding 0.8g of cocaine in her bag.

Ms Hilton initially claimed the bag did not belong to her, despite admitting it also contained a purse with several credit cards in her name.

Under the terms of the sentence if Ms Hilton is found guilty of any other crime during the probation period, even a traffic violation, she could be imprisoned for up to a year.

“I know Ms Hilton is contrite and accepts the responsibility for her actions,” her lawyer David Chesnoff said following the trial.

“She was treated like anybody else would be treated under the circumstances.”

Hilton was arrested earlier this year at the World Cup in South Africa under suspicion of possessing marijuana.

However, charges were later dropped when another woman who was with her confessed.

Ms Hilton also spent 23 days in jail in Los Angeles in 2007 for violating probation on an alcohol-related reckless driving charge.