Benefits cheat mum and daughter get suspended jail terms but could lose their Wednesbury home

Wendy Perry pocketed £28,743 in a five-year-long fraud while her daughter Nicola Manson-Perry gained £20,404 out of her nine-year racket.

Perry, aged 66, was yesterday handed a nine-month jail term, suspended for 12 months. Her daughter, 48, was last month given a 34-week sentence, suspended for two years.

The pair, who live together at Warner Road in Wednesbury, denied charges of benefit fraud but were found guilty by juries in two separate trials.

They both claimed to have difficulty walking due to separate health issues but Perry appeared to be unhindered while she was filmed during a probe in 2013.

The investigation expanded to her daughter who was also found to be exaggerating her ailments. Colleagues also said they had not noticed either of them struggling.

Both have undisputed medical conditions and were entitled to claim Disability Living Allowance in the beginning but prosecutors argued when their conditions improved they failed to inform the Department of Work and Pensions of a change of circumstance and continued to claim.

But yesterday Recorder Julian Taylor said he had sympathy with Perry because she was seriously ill and 'life had dealt her a bad hand' referring to her long history of health problems. He took the unusual step of interrupting her defence in the middle of the hearing to clarify he would not be imposing an immediate custodial sentence on the Sandwell General Hospital worker.

"This offending does cross the custody threshold but she is sitting here staring at me and I want her to know she will not be going to prison today." Recorder Taylor said.

He included 80 hours of voluntary work to be carried out and said Perry also had the prospect of losing her job and house hanging over her head because prosecutors were now pursuing a confiscation order.

Joseph Millington, defending Perry, said her daughter had now been sacked from City Hospital in Birmingham and the mother expected the same fate.