‘Action man’ facing prison
A BENEFITS cheat is facing jail after claiming he was too weak to walk more than 50 metres – before climbing Mount Kilimanjaro and taking part in a triathlon.
A BENEFITS cheat is facing jail after claiming he was too weak to walk more than 50 metres – before climbing Mount Kilimanjaro and taking part in a triathlon.
Former paratrooper Mark Lloyd, 33, of Ynysybwl, also took part in the World Powerboat Championships in Malta while claiming to be suffering from a slipped disc, which left him in “excruciating pain”.
He is known as “Action Man Mark”, and Merthyr Magistrates’ Court heard that he was paid £6,551.80 in disability benefits and used the money to help fund his action-filled outdoor adventures.
Prosecutor Chris Evans said: “You’d be forgiven for thinking this was two different people from hearing about his condition and how it affected his day-today life, and then hearing about the type of activities he was undertaking.
“He set out in his claim forms he needs a walking aid and on a bad day he can’t bend and reach his knees.
“He said he can only walk between 20 and 50 metres, can’t walk on uneven ground, suffers pain when walking long distances and needs to sit down every 20 minutes.
“That does not tally up with the activities he was undertaking.”
Lloyd was found to have overstated his needs, and during the 18-month period of claiming benefits he had climbed Mount Kilimanjaro over five days and walked for between eight and 12 hours a day.
He also took part in the World Powerboat Championships in Malta and competed in the HSBC triathlon in September 2015.
The court heard Lloyd was medically discharged from the army in 2011 after suffering injury to his lower back while serving in Afghanistan.
In 2014 he applied for the Personal Independence Payment – up to £141 a week for those suffering long-term ill-health to help cover costs of their care.
He then applied for more money a year later, saying his condition had worsened and he would be bedridden for a day if he walked more than 50 metres.
Mr Evans said: “The case is not whether he has an injury or not, but if he exaggerated his condition to claim money.”
Lloyd admitted filling in risk assessment forms to enter three triathlons without revealing he suffered ill-health.
He said: “I didn’t want any special treatment or assistance.
“I wanted to be self-sufficient and compete at the same level as everyone else.
“After competing I’m bedridden for a couple of days. But I wanted to push myself.”
James Harris, defending, said Lloyd had not been dishonest – and had simply been able to push through the pain barrier because of his training in the army.
Mr Harris said: “He has the ability to push himself through pain. He is an exserviceman.
“When climbing Mount Kilimanjaro he said he pushed himself and was in agony.
“But he did it anyway because his choices were either to sit in the house and let his mental health get the better of him, or get out and get on with his life.”
But District Judge Martin Brown called Lloyd’s defence “nonsense” – saying he had deliberately lied to get “every penny he could”.
District Judge Brown said: “The very fact he lied about a number of factors shows he realised he was being dishonest.
“He blatantly lied about the severity of his condition.
“This is a man who believes as he is an ex-paratrooper who was medically discharged from serving his country, he feels he deserves every penny he gets.”
Lloyd was found guilty of a single charge of fraud after a trial at Merthyr Tydfil Magistrates’ Court.
The court heard his latest offence took place while he was serving a 20-week suspended prison sentence for common assault.
District Judge Brown adjourned sentencing, warning Lloyd he could not rule out a custodial sentence.
Laura Walters, a prosecutor in the Crown Prosecution Service’s specialist fraud division, said: “Mark Lloyd flouted the system to claim thousands of pounds of disability benefits, all the while taking part in tough physical challenges.
“Lloyd vastly overstated his care needs in order to claim the cash but he could not hide from the evidence put forward by the prosecution, including photos of his participation in a climb of Mount Kilimanjaro and his participation in a triathlon.”
Lloyd will be sentenced on August 3 at Merthyr Tydfil Magistrates’ Court.