Benefit cheat is sentenced

A BENEFITS cheat will have to pay back almost Â£10,000 following an investigation by Rother District Council and the Department of Work and Pensions.

By The Newsroom

Published 9th Apr 2009, 17:42 BST

Updated 7th Jun 2018, 20:14 BST

Abbie Coleman, 30, claimed housing benefit, income support and council tax benefit but failed to declare her partner had moved in with her, resulting in an overpayment of 9,550.59.

Coleman, of Faygate Close, Bexhill, was found guilty of all charges when she faced Hastings magistrates on Friday, March 27.

She was ordered to pay back the money that was falsely claimed and given a five-month community order which includes a four-month 7pm to 7am curfew.

Magistrates also ordered her to pay 250 in costs.

A spokesman for Rother District Council said: "This prosecution between us and the DWP shows how closely we work."

Bexhill Hastings