A GRANDMOTHER has been given a community punishment order for claiming almost £10,000 in council benefits she was not entitled to.

Margaret Close, 58, of Wycollar Avenue, Burnley, pleaded guilty to the offence last month, and was sentenced for the 14 offences, which stretched back to 1998, yesterday.

Burnley Magistrates Court heard how Mrs Close signed council tax and housing benefit forms, claiming she earned about £70 per week, at the Burnley Miners Club, Plumbe Street.

Prosecuting solicitor, Rajat Jain, for Burnley Borough Council, explained how council checks discovered she was earning more. She had been overpaid £9,651.21 by the authority over the course of four-and-a-half years, between 1998 and 2002.

Defence solicitor Sara Lyle told the court how Mrs Close used the money to pay bills and to help her daughter and new-born granddaughter.

She is now paying back the money to the council, and suffers from high blood pressure and depression.

Ms Lyle said: "She is remorseful for what happened and she is paying the price for that."

Sentencing, the court took into account her personal situation, and handed her a 180 hour community punishment order along with £150 towards the council's court costs.