Teacher in benefits fiddle is spared jail

A Black Country supply teacher has been spared jail after falsely claiming more than £44,000 in benefits.

Ray Lester, 53, failed to declare that he was working for seven years while being paid incapacity, housing and council tax benefit.

Lester, of Downfield Drive, Sedgley, was handed a 36-week sentence suspended for two years at Wolverhampton Crown Court yesterday. Judge Martin Walsh told him: "Most people receive benefits honestly and have to live under the financial constraints that come with that."

The judge added: "You did not do this."

Lester pleaded guilty to two counts of dishonestly failing to notify the authorities of a change in his circumstances.

The court heard that between December 2002 when he started working, and September 2009, he received £25,531 incapacity benefit and £18,692 housing and council tax benefit.

Mr Neil Chawla, prosecuting said Lester had started claiming benefits legitimately in September 1995 when he suffered from depression.

But, he had racked up debts of £20,000 and started falsely claiming in 2002 to pay them off.

The debt had now been reduced to £4,000, Mr Chawla added.

Since 2002 he had worked "almost continuously" in a number of temporary teaching and lecturing jobs across the West Midlands after gaining an IT qualification.

He earned up to £20 an hour, the court heard.

Miss Amanda Tomkins, defending, said Lester had not told the authorities he had started work again in 2002 as he "did not know if he would be able to hold down a long term job".

She added: "Due to the debts he had built up he made the decision to use the extra money to pay them off.

"He has not been living an extravagant lifestyle as a result of that, however," she added.

Judge Walsh said he could have sent Lester to custody.

But, he said, he had been persuaded to save him from jail as the claims were not dishonest from the outset.

Lester was ordered to carry out 240 hours of unpaid community work.

He must also undergo supervision from the probation service for 18 months.

By Adam Burling