£17k benefit cheat's brags on Facebook

Susan Malpas, from Willenhall, also posted about how she had built a pond, stripped conifers and felled trees at her Neachells Lane home in Willenhall.

Malpas claimed she had difficulty walking and could not manage more than 40-50 yards at a time, yet she was secretly caught on film jogging with her dogs and walking with ease for long stretches.

The former Wolverhampton City Council worker, who was handed a 12-month suspended sentence yesterday, told the court she had been 'far too truthful' in her interviews with benefits bosses.

She also told her Facebook friends that when a nurse asked her if she was getting enough exercise, she had replied: 'More than enough having 20 dogs to look after, a big garden to do and the housework.'

When quizzed about the internet entries at Wolverhampton Crown Court, she claimed she had been exaggerating for effect and that someone else had actually done the heavy work.

The jury heard the 63-year-old had been been breeding and showing collies off and on since 1979. She had taken up the hobby again to help her get over the breakdown of her marriage, saying the dogs had given her the incentive to carry on.

Malpas said her husband used to massage her aching joints and did a lot of the driving when they were together. Her divorce solicitor had advised she could claim benefits, she told the court.

Her dogs had won two runners-up and a third placing at Crufts in 2011 and she had also entered the top show the following year.

She was filmed by a DWP investigator at the City of Birmingham Dog Show at Stoneleigh Park, Warwickshire, in August 2013 when she was observed jogging around the show ring with her dogs, jumping on and off an 18-inch step and walking up to 500 paces at a stretch at various times during the day.

In her defence, she said that the Stoneleigh Show had been a good day and that she had suffered many bad days.

She was also a national judge and drove herself to shows, including as far afield as Wales, the jury heard.

In cross-examination, Malpas accepted that her walking capability had improved since she first started claiming in 2004. Asked about the yearly forms sent by the DWP asking about any changes in circumstances, she said she had thrown them away because her health was still bad.

Stuart Clarkson, prosecuting, said she suffered from several conditions, including inflammation of the lungs, joint pain, asthma, high blood pressure and depression, and that her benefits claim was initially legitimate.

Asked whether she had told the truth in her interview with the DWP, Malpas replied: "I was far too truthful. When the dogs came up I was happy to share what I did. I've always been brought up to tell the truth and sometimes the truth can backfire on people. In that case I was too truthful. Instead of answering yes or no, I went on."

She denied dishonestly claiming £16,826 between May 2007 and October 2013 by failing to notify the DWP of a change in circumstances.

Afterwards Malpas told the Express & Star she had not deliberately set out to defraud the system.