Paris Hilton released due to unspecified medical condition

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Hotel heiress Paris Hilton was released from jail in Los Angeles on Thursday morning due to an unspecified medical condition after serving only five days of her sentence. She was sent home with an ankle bracelet and must remain there for 40 days, according to sheriff's spokesman Steve Whitmore.

Hilton was sent home shortly after 2 a.m. (0900GMT) fitted with an electronic monitoring bracelet after spending five days at the Century Regional Detention Facility in suburban Los Angeles for violating probation in an alcohol-related reckless driving case.

"I can't specifically talk about the medical situation other than to say that yes it played a part in this," said sheriff's spokesman Steve Whitmore.

Hilton had been sentenced to 45 days behind bars, but had been expected to serve 23 days because of state rules allowing shorter sentences for good behaviour. Whitmore said under the new agreement, Hilton would be confined to her home for 40 days.

"Because she has agreed to this through her attorney, her sentence is now back up to the 45 days. She has served already five days so that's 40 days," he explained.

The 26-year-old surrendered to authorities on Sunday with little fanfare after a surprise appearance at the MTV Movie Awards, where she worked the red carpet in a strapless designer gown.

"I am trying to be strong right now. I'm definitely scared but I'm ready to face my sentence and even though this is a really hard time, I have my friends and family and my fans who support me and it has just been really helpful.

Hilton was housed in the "special needs" unit of the jail, separate from most of its 2,200 inmates. The unit contains 12 two-person cells reserved for police officers, public officials, celebrities and other high-profile inmates. She did not have a cellmate.

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 license 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.