A PENSIONER who fraudulently claimed more than £12,000 in benefits has avoided an immediate prison sentence.

Burnley Crown Court heard how Stephen Bulman, 66, of Manchester Road, Haslingden, failed to tell the Department for Work and Pensions that his wife was working when he claimed housing benefits, pension credit and council tax benefit in June 2011.

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Over a four-year period he went on to swindle £12,322 before he was found out and made a full confession during interview with a DWP investigator.

Defending, Stuart Kaufman, said Bulman’s wife had looked after the finances until becoming ill and Judge Beverley Lunt accepted that he had acted ‘stupidly’ and not with malice.

Mr Kaufman said: “The pre-sentence report says he wasn’t normally the person who handled money in the house. They spent a whole life together and his wife handled it. When she started to become ill before she went in to a diabetic coma he had to take on that responsibility.

“Due to a workplace injury where he lost a lot of the calf muscle in his leg he took early retirement.

“He made a claim and stupidly he made it without declaring his wife’s income.”

The court heard that Mrs Bulman had worked at Places for People Ltd where she had earned around £399 per month.

Prosecuting, Gemma Maxwell, said: “The defendant fully accepted at the time of interview that he he acted wrongly and he hadn’t considered his wife’s measly income would have affected his claim.

“He would have been entitled to some benefits, just not to the extent he received.” The court heard Bulman was paying the money back via his pension and benefits.

Judge Lunt said: “Effectively the taxpayer is going to be paying back the taxpayer, although it will be out of Mr Bulman’s income.

“I accept this is not pre-meditated criminal behaviour. He has been very stupid and this could have been easily avoided.”

“I see all sorts of cases about people who defraud the DWP but quite few are as sad as yours.

“I will accept you were very stupid when you didn’t declare your wife’s minor income.

”Bulman was sentenced to 18 weeks imprisonment, suspended for 12 months., and told to pay a statutory victim surcharge.”