A 56-year-old Pulrose woman has been jailed by magistrates for eight weeks for a £12,866 benefit fraud.

Amanda Bojang, of Oak Avenue, admitted failing to declare money earned by her husband between July 10, 2015 and March 18, 2017.

The court heard that Bojang had 20 previous similar offences on her record.

Prosecutor Rachael Braidwood told the court how Bojang had started claiming income support benefit in 2011.

In 2015 she declared that she had a partner but that he had no income.

However, in March 2017 investigations found that Bojang’s husband had been working for Spot On Cleaners and the Palace Hotel.

Bank statements showed payments from both companies but neither source of income had been declared by Bojang.

Spot On Cleaners confirmed that Bojang’s husband had been employed by them since July 2015 and he had received £9,647 while his wife was claiming income support.

The Sefton Group also confirmed that they had paid Mrs Bojang’s husband £21,790 since August 2015.

She was interviewed at Markwell House on April 11 and admitted that she knew she should have declared any changes in her circumstances, but then claimed she had sent the department a change of circumstances form in July 2015. However, no record of such correspondence was found.

She denied knowing that her husband had been working at the Palace Hotel at first, but when quizzed further, as to how she did not wonder where he was for 40 hours a week, admitted knowing.

Defence advocate Louise Cooil told the court that the earnings had gone into a family pot but the Palace Hotel income had gone towards supporting other members of Mrs Bojang’s husband’s family.

Ms Cooil said that her client had already begun paying back the overpayment at a rate of £47.50 per week.

Magistrates’ chair Gill Eaton said: ’You have received over £12,000 from the Isle of Man taxpayer which you weren’t entitled to. Your first instinct was to lie. Only custody is appropriate.’