A woman who pocketed £30,000 after fraudulently claiming benefits for more than ten years has avoided a jail sentence.

Hayley Rhonda Can, 30, of Charles Street, Selby, pleaded guilty to benefit fraud when she appeared before York Crown Court.

James Willoughby, for the Department of Work and Pensions, told the court Can started claiming benefit legitimately in 1995 when she was married to her first husband.

But the marriage broke down and she married again in 1997. As a result, income coming into her household changed, but she did not tell the authorities.

By 2008, she had claimed approximately £16,250 in housing benefit, £10,500 in income support and £3,250 in council tax benefit which she was not entitled to.

Recorder Rodney Jameson QC, gave Can a suspended a six-month prison sentence because she had “responsibilities” to her children and her mother, and that locking her up immediately would be an additional financial burden for the taxpayer and a “disproportionate punishment”.

Can wept in the dock as he told her she must perform 300 hours’ unpaid work for the community in the next 12 months.