SERENA Taylor, of West Street, Kilkhampton pleaded guilty to benefit fraud at Bodmin Magistrates' Court on Tuesday, January 6.

The magistrates heard that Mrs Taylor had claimed Housing and Council Tax Benefit since 2003, and had reported several changes in her circumstances, however on March 19, 2008, Mrs Taylor and her husband Mr Nicholas Taylor started work at Morrisons but failed to report these changes to the council.

The undeclared work was brought to light in June 2008, and Mrs Taylor was interviewed by council fraud officers, where she denied the allegations saying she had informed the council of the work.

The defence claimed that on reflection Mrs Taylor had no real recollection of advising the council of the change, but that this had merely been an oversight rather than a deliberate act, as she had advised the Tax Credits office.

She asked the court to take into account her previous good character and her early guilty plea, and asked the court to consider a conditional discharge or a financial penalty which could be paid back in instalments.

The court heard that the £2,868.45 Housing Benefit overpayment and the £559.29 Council Tax Benefit overpayments were being recovered as a separate issue by the council.

On sentencing the magistrates ordered Mrs Taylor to pay £100 in costs to the council and she received a 12 month conditional discharge. They suggested that the instalments she had offered to pay the court could be used to increase the repayments of the money fraudulently obtained from the council.