A Puttenham resident has pleaded guilty to defrauding Guildford Borough Council of over £16,000 worth of benefits.

Alison West of The Street failed to declare that she was receiving maintenance payments from an ex-partner while claiming housing and council tax benefit. She also failed to inform the Council that she had received over £40,000 from him in June 2005 as part of a court order.

Ms West appeared at Guildford Magistrates Court on Thursday 3 April and was sentenced to a community order requiring 300 hours of unpaid work to be completed within the next 12 months. She was also ordered to pay costs of £250 to the Council. The full amount of overpaid benefit will also be paid back to the Council.

Cllr Tony Rooth, Lead Councillor for Finance and Resources says: "The Council is committed to providing a deterrent against benefit fraud through active prosecutions such as this. Benefits are there to help those people most in need and we will continue to work to ensure those people who defraud the system are brought to justice."

For information on benefits call 01483 444884 or go to the council tax pages or housing benefit pages.