A BENEFITS cheat escaped jail after York Crown Court heard that four children were dependant on her.

Pauline Morgan, 41, cheated the taxpayer out of £34,578 over five-and-a-half years by claiming that she was separated from her husband David, looking single-handed after their three children and had no income, said Patricia Doherty, prosecuting.

But while she was claiming on average £100 a week in benefits, she was also driving Mr Morgan to work every day and living with him.

The court heard the benefit authorities were reclaiming the money - which would take Morgan the rest of her life because she could only afford £20 a month.

"This was a substantial offence of swindling the public, though you might not have looked at it in that light," the Honorary Recorder of York, Judge Paul Hoffman, told her.

But Nicholas Barker, defending, told him that Pauline Morgan's toddler niece must live with her under a court order aimed at protecting the youngster from a man believed to be a risk to children.

He said that if the mother was jailed, the family would live on benefits because David Morgan would have to give up work to look after their three children and the niece.

The judge jailed Pauline Morgan for 21 months, but suspended the sentence for two years.

He said he only did so with some soul-searching and warned that other benefit fraudsters should not expect to escape jail.

Morgan, of Tedder Road, Acomb, wept with relief. She pleaded guilty to three benefit fraud offences and asked for 16 more to be taken into consideration.

Mr Barker said her husband knew about the fraud, which began because Pauline Morgan had substantial debts and was under pressure from "loan sharks".

The benefits had gone on household expenses, not high living, and the wife had not appreciated the enormity of her actions at the time.

The court heard she cheated her way to £19,183 in income support, £13,057 in housing benefits and £2,337 in council tax help between July 1996 and January 2002.

Updated: 12:11 Saturday, December 14, 2002