Suspended term for benefit cheat

Toner was working under a false name as an assistant cook

A woman who claimed to be so severely disabled she needed help feeding herself but worked as a dinner lady has been given a suspended jail term.

Kim Toner, 49, from Huyton, Knowsley, was caught on camera by benefit fraud investigators preparing food for over 400 schoolchildren.

Toner had received a Motability car and over £80,000 in benefits.

The judge at Liverpool Crown Court ordered her to repay the cash and gave her an 18-month suspended sentence.

She was also ordered to undertake 300 hours unpaid work in the community and was made the subject of a six-month curfew which means she has to be home by 7pm every night.

Toner had been working as an assistant cook at a school in Huyton since 2000 using both her maiden name and a fictitious name, as well as a false national insurance number and date of birth.

The Department of Work and Pensions and Knowsley Council launched an investyigation after a tip-off from a member of the public.

Roy Paul, Senior Fraud Operations Manager for Merseyside & Cheshire, said: "She said that she was severely disabled, she had restricted mobility - she could only walk two metres in two or three minutes.

"She needed help getting out of bed in the morning, washing and bathing and needed help preparing meals - she only needed help preparing meals because she was cooking for 400 children."