A SINGLE mother-of-three with debts and mental health problems fiddled her way to nearly £10,000 of benefits by hiding her low-paid work, York magistrates heard.

Tom Gent, prosecuting, said that Donna Marie Donnelly, 36, had earned between £24.60 and £92.40 a week for nearly two years as a barmaid and cleaner at the Dick Turpin pub, in Woodthorpe, York, between November 2001 and September 2003.

At the same time, she had been claiming income support on the grounds she was not working.

As a result, she had got £9,894.23 in state payments she was not entitled to.

Donnelly, of Wenham Road, Foxwood, York, pleaded guilty to two offences of benefit fraud and asked for 91 more to be taken into consideration.

She was ordered to do 150 hours' community punishment. Mr Gent said the Department of Work and Pensions was reclaiming the money through civil means.

For Donnelly, Mark Thompson said he had a letter from Donnelly's GP about her mental health problems.

Donnelly also had had major problems following the death of her mother last year and was having difficulties coping with life in general, as well as the stress of the court proceedings.

She was a single parent, bringing up three children entirely by herself without any assistance from her ex-partner.

She would have to ask other family members to provide child care so she could do the community punishment.

In addition to her health and motherhood difficulties, she also had "enormous financial problems".

Several debt management agencies were working with her and regularly collecting money to pay creditors.

After seeing details of her very low current financial situation which did not include benefit payments other than child benefit, magistrates decided not to make her pay £200 as the prosecution requested towards its court costs.

Mr Gent said Donnelly started claiming income support in May 1997 and had to sign a declaration that she had reported any fact that could affect her payment every time she cashed her Giro. But she had not reported her work.

She had not worked for six weeks of her time at the pub.

Updated: 10:25 Monday, June 13, 2005