£400,000 benefit fraud uncovered

Almost £400,000 in illegally claimed council benefits has been uncovered during a year-long crackdown on fraud.

West Oxfordshire District Council tripled the number of prosecutions against housing and council tax fraudsters in the last financial year.

The amount uncovered by investigators between April 2006 and last month was £100,000 more than in the year before.

A council spokeswoman said that only £40,640 was left to be collected from those who had committed the fraud.

A total of £387,452.13 in falsely claimed housing and council tax benefits was uncovered and action taken against 55 offenders.

Jon Dearing, the council's head of revenues, said: "It is not only about reducing further losses to the public purse and residents of West Oxfordshire, but also changing the assumptions some people have that it is acceptable to fiddle the system and draw benefits, knowing that their actions are fraudulent."