COUNCIL chiefs are cracking down extra-hard on benefit cheats.

Bury Town Hall has adopted a tough set of rules to tackle dishonest tenants who cheat on their housing benefit claims.

And the council's finance spokesman, councillor John Byrne, has vowed to prosecute anyone they catch cheating.

"We want to stress that legitimate claimants have nothing to fear from these changes and in fact we are very keen to ensure that benefit does go to those who need it," he said.

"We are constantly looking to strengthen our fraud protection procedures and these new policies will play an important part in this. Our prosecution policy confirms our existing approach which is that where we find fraud we will always actively consider legal proceedings against those involved." Coun Byrne said the council would work alongside the Benefits Agency, other local authorities and the police to make sure no one fell through the net.

The council is also planning to introduce more detailed checks on claims before they even entered the system.

Staff will get training in the new code of conduct to make sure they are ready to spot fraudulent claims, and be guided how to deal with any they find.

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