New York, Jan 6 (IANS): Author-actress Tessa Dahl, mother of model Sophie Dahl, has been arrested and will appear in a US courtroom next week on a charge of larceny.

If convicted, Tessa could face from one to five years in prison, reports dailymail.co.uk.

Tessa checked into a Connecticut hotel, where rooms start at 140 pounds a night, on October 27 last year, signing in as "Chantal Dahl" -- the Christian name which appears on her birth certificate.

By the time she departed on November 3, she had run up a bill of 3,970 pounds, which she left without paying, prompting the hotel's management to call the state police.

Later on November 3, the hotel staff called the police again, to alert them that Tessa had contacted them from a nearby hotel and said that she would not be paying her bill and that "they would never see her again".

The police later landed up at the other hotel and arrested Tessa, whose life has been scarred by tragedy, alcoholism and drug addiction.

During that time, she gave a home address in Massachusetts and was released on payment of a 3,970 pounds bond.