Inverness woman avoids jail after claiming £10k in benefits

A 51-year-old Inverness woman claimed over £10,000 of benefits while her partner came to support her during her ill health.

Meliha Bell, of Kilmuir Road, had originally made a legitimate claim for the benefits but should have stopped them when he returned to help her.

Sentence had been deferred for a background report on Bell who had previously admitted at Inverness Sheriff Court failing to notify the Department of Work and Pensions that her husband was living with her and contributing to the household expenses.

The court was told that she had claimed £8,381.70 in employment support allowance, £2,073.52 in housing benefit and £71.89 in council tax benefit between September 13, 2016 and September 13, 2017.

Defence solicitor David Patterson said that £5,431.91 had been repaid through deductions from her current benefits and he expected the balance to have been reimbursed by the middle of next year.

Sheriff Gordon Fleetwood sentenced Bell to 120 hours of unpaid community work as an alternative to custody.