A mother of two pleaded guilty after claiming more than £3,000 in benefits she was not entitled to.

Adele Mercer, 37, of Pennine Road, Chorley, claimed the extra cash in income support, housing benefit and council tax benefit after stating she was an unemployed single mum.

But Leyland Magistrates Court heard she failed to tell the Department for Work and Pensions and Chorley Borough Council she was working full time and claimed the extra cash for a further four months.

A spokeswoman for Chorley Borough Council said the prosecution was commenced following a data matching exercise carried out between the DWP and the Inland Revenue.

She added: "As soon as DWP investigators became aware that the case also affected Mercer's claims for housing and council tax benefit, they brought council investigators on board with the investigation.

"Data matching is now a standard weapon in our fight to combat benefit fraud and this is yet another excellent example of the effectiveness of data matching and the good working relationship that exists between DWP and Chorley Borough Council investigators."

Mercer, who appeared before the court on Thursday, October 27, was sentenced to 12 months rehabilitation order but no costs were awarded due to Mercer's existing debts. Steps are now being taken to recover the overpaid benefit in full.