Court told of £3,000 benefit con
Published on 14th June 2007 in News
A Goole woman who dishonestly claimed more than £3,000 in income support benefits was ordered to pay £100 when she appeared before the town's magistrates this week.
Samantha Tebbutt (35), of Marshfield Avenue, pleaded guilty to the charge when she appeared in custody at Goole Magistrates' Court on Tuesday.
Prosecuting on behalf of the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), Miss Amanda Holmes told the court that between September, 2004 and February, 2005 Mrs Tebbutt dishonestly claimed £3,287 in income support benefits after she failed to declare that she had begun working at a local butchers.
The court heard that at the time Mrs Tebbutt, now a mother of four, was living alone with three children after she separated from her husband. She was struggling to cope with the cost of living, so she took a job at a local butcher's that saw her earning up to £450 a month.
Defending, Mr Shaun Pinchbeck said that his client had separated from her husband in 2002 and had applied to the DWP for income support as her husband was no longer financially supporting either her or her children.
Mr Pinchbeck told the court that Mrs Tebbutt decided to take the job whilst still on income support in 2004 because she was "finding things difficult".
He said: "In essence, she found it hard to cope financially. Clearly, Mrs Tebbutt should have reported the job to the DWP but she didn't do that and she wholly acknowledges that she should have done so."
The court heard that Mrs Tebbutt was reunited with her husband in February, 2005 and immediately declared this to the DWP, when the income support benefits were stopped. A month later she quit her job at the local butcher's because her husband was supporting the family and she no longer needed the job.
Mr Pinchbeck added: "Mrs Tebbutt is now back with her husband. He is working and she accepts that she has to make an arrangement to pay back this money."
Magistrates took into account Mrs Tebbutt's early guilty plea and imposed a three-year conditional discharge. She was also ordered to pay £100 court costs.