A dole cheat from Wolverhampton has escaped jail for his part in a sophisticated £80,000 benefits scam – after being described by a judge as “capable of earning a good living”.

Damor James admitted cashing a £294.90 stolen giro using a fraudulent credit card as identification.

The 22-year-old, of Emerson Road, The Scotlands, was traced after his fingerprints were found on the cheque by investigators probing the racket.

He also gave lifts to other members of the gang, prosecutor Mr Nicholas Cole told Wolverhampton Crown Court yesterday.

Judge Nicholas Webb described James, who was paid £80 for cashing the cheque and also towards the cost of petrol, as a “talented man with good GSCE results”.

He added: “You are fully capable of earning a good living and it is always disconcerting when someone with your ability takes the easy way out and does not buckle down to hard work.”

James, who admitted conspiracy to defraud, was given 12 months of supervision and ordered to carry out 60 hours of unpaid work. The benefits racket targeted West Midland and Staffordshire post offices by using giro cheques stolen by others from Royal Mail sorting offices in London, which were cashed for around £300 each.

It was organised by Congolese asylum seekers who recruited “droppers” to call at 20 post offices as part of a nationwide multi-million pound fraud.

The names of the people to who the cheques were made payable were altered to match those on stolen bank cards used to ‘confirm’ the identity of the person cashing the benefit payout.

Another of the gang, Kevin Lilley, 25, from Kent, also pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud and yesterday received a four-month prison sentence, suspended for 18 months. He was also ordered to do 80 hours unpaid work.

Judge Webb said he would take a “more lenient course” as Lilley had made an effort to “disengage from the conspiracy by changing his mobile phone well before it had run its course”.

Nine other people involved in the fraud were dealt with at the court on Friday.

Five were given jail sentences of between six and 39 months.

Others received either suspended sentences or were ordered to do unpaid work under supervision.