Woman convicted of benefit fraud after being pictured scuba diving

A woman who claimed she was so disabled that she could not open a bottle wine has been convicted of benefit fraud after she was pictured scuba-diving during exotic holidays, according to the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).

Rose Jones, 53, from Ramsgate, Kent, was convicted at Canterbury Crown Court of claiming more than £119,000 in benefits for her disability.

She was convicted of six counts of furnishing false information, four of obtaining money by deception and two of dishonestly making false representation.

According to the DWP, she had falsely claimed £45,500 in incapacity benefit, £52,181 in disability living allowance, £15,975 in tax credits and £5,351 in carers allowance.

Her husband, Reginald Jones, 53, was also convicted of four charges of obtaining money transfer by deception, one of furnishing false information and two of dishonestly making false representation.

A DWP spokeswoman said: "She claimed that she couldn't walk properly, couldn't even open a bottle of wine but our investigators looked into this and clearly she could because she had been scuba-diving while on holiday."

The court heard that Mrs Jones and her husband, a former paratrooper, had taken holidays for scuba-diving lessons to destinations including Sharm-El-Sheikh, Egypt, the Maldives and Indonesia.

They had also been on other sporting holidays around the world.

The couple are to be sentenced next month.

PA