Caught out!
£16,000 benefits cheat claimed he could barely walk... but was filmed playing for his local cricket club
A BENEFITS cheat who claimed he could barely walk was caught out – playing cricket for his local team.
Kenneth Hodgson said crumbling spinal discs and nerve damage to his legs meant he was unable to walk more than 13ft.
The 45- year- old said he needed crutches to move around, struggled getting out of the bath, and even had problems while standing to make meals.
But investigators from the Department for Work and Pensions secretly filmed him playing cricket for two-and-a-half hours.
This week a court heard he was overpaid by up to £16,449 in benefits between May 3, 2014, and April 24 last year.
He had said during a medical examination in 2011 that he only went out ‘once a week to watch his son play rugby’.
But investigators saw him fielding in various positions during the cricket match on August 17, 2017. He had been pictured arriving at the ground carrying a fully-laden cricket bag and was seen practising throwing and catching during the warm- up. Hodgson, from Bridgnorth, Shropshire, was also seen diving to stop the ball.
Scorecards and records suggested he had been playing for Highley Cricket Club since 2013, though he insisted he did not actually play until the following year, maintaining his name had been used by unsigned players.
He eventually confessed to investigators that since starting to play he had batted and bowled when required as well as fielding.
He admitted failing to notify officials of a change in circumstances affecting at Telford entitlement magistrates’ to court. benefits
He had been receiving Disability Living Allowance, later called Personal Independence Payments, since 2008. In a signed statement in 2010 he wrote: ‘On good days crutches are sufficient but on bad days I need more support – hence I do not go outdoors, so stay in.’ He had been warned he needed to report any improvement in his condition, but failed to do so. Shakel Ahmed, defending, said Hodgson has been paying the money back directly to the DWP for the last 12 months. Mr Ahmed said: ‘He was unable to manage his condition, but it improved with medication.’ Magistrates gave him a 12-month community order, 60 hours unpaid work and ordered him to pay court and prosecution costs and a victim surcharge totalling £405. A DWP spokesman said: ‘Cases like this show how we are catching those who cheat the system.’
‘I do not go outdoors’