ANN Elizabeth Hill didn't know if the relationship with her live-in lover would last and so continued to claim benefits as a single parent.

Blackburn magistrates heard that hedging her bets had led to Hill being overpaid by £1,496 in income support for her and her three independent children.

Hill, 41, now of Middle White Close, Ormsgill, Barrow-in-Furness, pleaded guilty to benefit fraud. She was fined £100 and ordered to pay £75 costs. Jonathon Taylor, defending, said Hill had a volatile relationship with her partner at the time and she was not sure how long it would last."