Women are most likely to be criminalised for not having a TV Licence, with more than 100,000 convicted for failing to pay the £145.50 fee last year, a report claims.

Seven in ten of those found guilty of failing to buy a licence - which funds the BBC and is compulsory for all television viewers - were women, according to figures seen by The Times.

With TV Licence offences reportedly accounting for one in ten of all cases heard in magistrates courts in England and Wales, it raises questions over the time and cost to the taxpayer of prosecuting the crime.

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Final reminder: Women are most likely to be convicted for not having a TV Licence, with more than 100,000 convicted for failing to pay the £145.50 fee last year, according to figures seen by The Times

Campaigners have stepped up calls on Government to decriminalise the offence which, said reportedly had a 90 per cent conviction rate over 180,000 cases.

It is widely suggested that the crime disproportionately targets women simply because they are more likely to be at home when inspectors call.

The paper did not state where it got its figures from. A spokesman for the Ministry of Justice said the data did not seem to be available anywhere in his department.

A year-long review into BBC funding, due to report early in the next parliament, is underway with detailed examination of the case for decriminalisation.

Under the new proposals, fee evasion will become a civil offence punishable with a fine, similar to missing a gas bill or not paying a Sky TV subscription.

Under current rules, anyone found guilty of evading the licence fee is given a criminal record and can be fined up to £1,000. If they fail to pay the fine they can be jailed – which happened in 32 cases last year.

In contrast, shoplifters, thugs and vandals are routinely given spot fines of £80 and are not saddled with a criminal record. Similarly, thousands of drugs users who are caught smoking cannabis are given fixed penalties and dodge court action.

An inspector calls... The figures come amid calls for decriminalising licence fee evasion

Tory MP Andrew Bridgen has been among the leaders of the decriminalisation campaign. He told The Times the figures exposed how the licence fee enforcement disproportionately affects women.

Sixty-nine per cent of the convictions are female, because they're at home when the inspector calls

'Sixty-nine per cent of the convictions are female, just because they happen to be at home when the licence fee inspector calls,' Mr Bridgen said.

'The licence fee is an anachronism, it discriminates against the poorest in society.'

Rachel Halford, chief executive of the charity Women In Prison, reiterated the claim that women were disproportionately affected because they were more likely to be at home when inspectors call.