Con me head son: Sunday League top scorer was disability benefit cheat

The 30-year-old put in an astonishing performance while pocketing more than £14,000 in Disability Living Allowance by claiming he could barely walk, sources said.

The double-dealing No 9 – described as a ‘prolific’ scorer – told benefit officials he needed help to put on his shoes and socks and had difficulty getting out of bed and into the bath without assistance.

Watch benefits cheat Gaz running round playing football

Wilson, from St Chad’s Road, Bilston, maintained he needed ‘physical support’ after a few minutes on his feet because of arthritis in his hips and spine.

It was alleged he took around five minutes to walk 200 yards and moved three or four times slower than a normal person. And a year before the fraud started he maintained he needed crutches to get about.

But the money-spinning lie he had lived for three and a half years was finally kicked into touch by the skills he displayed during a Wolverhampton Sunday League game secretly filmed by Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) investigators.

The video shows him raining shots in on goal and making crunching tackles for 50-50 balls without any sign of discomfort while playing for Steelman’s Lounge FC.

Stats from the website of another Wolverhampton Sunday League club he played for in the 2014/15 season – Willenhall side Loft FC – show he scored 26 goals and provided 15 assists in 16 appearances.

He was on the pitch for a total of 1,346 minutes and collected two man of the match awards. Yesterday Wilson appeared at Walsall Magistrates Court to admit illegally claiming Disability Living Allowance from November 2012 to May last year by failing to reveal his capabilities had improved. He also pleaded guilty to illegally claiming around £500 worth of Employment and Support Allowance by not declaring he was working between January 2 and February 22, 2013.

He made a string of false declarations in a benefit claim form in 2014 and had filled in an earlier one in 2011, but the payouts were not fraudulent from the outset. The case was adjourned until November 15 after his pleas had been entered, plus, the court was told he was feeling unwell. Miss Seama Kapoor, defending, explained: “He wants to go to the doctors because he is not feeling well.”

District Judge David Webster told the defendant: “Given your obvious discomfort I will adjourn to a later date to sentence.

“It is apparent to everybody that you are not looking well and I do not want to add to that by asking you to sit here whilst we pass sentence. The case will be adjourned until November 15.”

Prosecutor Kelly Crowe confirmed that the amount of money involved totalled £14,500 but no further details were given to the court.

Full details of the case are expected to be given on his next appearance when he will be sentenced. He was remanded on bail.