A woman posed as single mum in order to claim £50,000 of benefits.

Benefit fraudster Amanda Mamdally, of St Helier Avenue, Sutton, claimed a staggering £50,000 in overpaid benefits and has been given a two year suspended sentence.

Inner London Crown Court heard on Tuesday, July 16, that Mrs Mamdally claimed to be living alone as single parent with no income.

She pleaded guilty to four offences of making false statements in order to obtain benefits.

However, in reality her fact her husband was living with her and was working as a manager for the Royal Mail resulting in an overpayment of£50,242.32.

She was sentenced to six months in prison on all four charges to run concurrent, suspended for two years.

In passing sentence Judge Ceed said Mamdally had committed "very serious offences against the public purse over a sustained period of time".

He said: “The general public do not pay taxes and national insurance contributions so people can claim benefits they are not entitled too.

“The overpayment is in excess of fifty thousand pounds and although your claim was not false from the outset, when your partner returned to your household you failed to notify the relevant authorities and you continued to receive benefits you knew that you were not entitled to receive.

“I give you credit for your early guilty pleas and the fact that you are repaying the overpaid benefit."

Your Local Guardian: Councillor Richard Clifton

Councillor Richard Clifton, Sutton’s lead councillor on revenue and benefits said: “This is another fine example of the hard work undertaken by our benefit fraud investigation team.

"We are sending out a firm message – If you try and steal money from the public purse you will face the consequences.

“With the vast majority of people working hard to pay their way it beggars belief that some people think they have the right to claim money that is not theirs to have.”

If you think someone is claiming benefits they are not entitled to, contact the council's investigation team on 020 8770 5687. Alternatively call the National Benefit Fraud Hotline on 0800 328 6340, Textphone 0800 328 6341.