A BENEFIT fraudster from Warminster who cheated West Wiltshire District Council out of more than £7,500 was convicted six years after the offence.

Lucy Sullivan, who now lives at Cross in Hand, Heathfield, East Sussex, pleaded guilty to three charges of false accounting and 79 other offences when she appeared at Frome Magistrates' Court last Friday.

Miss Sullivan, who lived in Corsley, near Warminster in 1993, fraudulently claimed £7,687.78 in housing benefit by claiming rent on a house she had bought.

She was ordered to complete 120 hours' community service and pay £200 a month to pay off the debt, as well as a £75 fine.

Benefit investigation manager Ian Brambley said: "£7,000 is a lot of money and we want to demonstrate that even if the fraud was a long time ago we will still investigate.

"Nationally there is a lot of money lost through fraud and this is quite a large fraud for this area."

Mr Brambley also explained that a new anti-fraud measure brought in by the Government means that all details of claimants have to be checked before their application is processed.

Leader of West Wiltshire District Council Angie Barker said she was pleased with the conviction, which showed benefit cheats that they would not escape punishment.

She said: "This type of fraud is not just a crime against the council, it is a crime against every genuine recipient of benefits.

"I would urge any member of the pubic who suspects fraud is taking place to contact us.

"Although these offences were committed a number of years ago, they only came to our attention recently when information was received."