A 30-YEAR-OLD mother of seven who cheated the DSS out of £620 in benefit would have received only slightly less had she told the Benefits Agency she was working, a court heard.
Margaret Doyle, of Collingwood Court, Tupsley, represented herself when she appeared before Hereford magistrates on four charges of false representation.
Doyle, who pleaded guilty, was given a conditional discharge of 18 months and asked to contribute £75 in costs, repaid from the benefits she is currently receiving.
Doyle had claimed Income Support, making weekly declarations that she was unemployed, when she was actually working for one month last summer at Allensmore Nurseries.
The court was told that, during that period, she would, however, have been entitled to claim £560 in Family Credit. Thus, the total loss to the DSS was being regarded as £57.68.
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