Benefit cheat caught playing golf on CCTV

The captain of a ladies golf club who swindled more than 40 thousand pounds in disability benefits has avoided jail.

55 year old Valerie Lewis, from Runcorn, Cheshire, claimed she suffered back pain which made it "virtually impossible" for her to walk unaided outdoors.

But surveillance footage taken by fraud investigators captured Lewis at her golf club - teeing off, playing the fairways and pulling her golf bag without any apparent difficulty.

She was sentenced to 24 weeks in jail, suspended for two years, at Warrington Crown Court today after pleading guilty to dishonestly claiming benefit totalling £40,842.