Benefit cheat worked and claimed £35,000

A 59-year-old Oldham woman dishonestly claimed almost £35,000 in benefit payments over nine years.

Irene Lofthouse claimed both incapacity benefit and income support, claiming she was too sick to work.

She later got a job earning up to £200 per week as a telesales operator — but continued to claim the benefits..

She also then began claiming disability living allowance (DLA) by exaggerating the extent of various medical conditions such as osteoarthritis. She claimed to need help moving around indoors, going to the toilet, washing, and said she needed someone to keep an eye on her during the day.

In fact Lofthouse was still going out to work: colleagues there were completely unaware she ever needed assistance.

Lofthouse was given a four-month sentence, suspended for two years, will be subject to supervision by the probation service for 12 months and faces a three-month nightly curfew.

She pleaded guilty to three offences of benefit fraud and was told by judge Stephen Lowcock at Manchester’s Minshull Street Crown Court: “These offences are so serious that only a custodial sentence can be justified. The last claim was simply greed on your part.”

He suspended the sentence after hearing she really was now in deteriorating health.

The court heard she fully accepted she had deliberately exaggerated the extent of her medical conditions to get extra money.