A Castletown woman has been sentenced to 40 hours’ community service after she claimed more than £4,000 in benefits while she was working.

Donna May Kerrie Cooper, of Stanley Crescent, was working as a gardener and for a pizza company even though was claiming Income Support benefit.

A magistrates’ court heard how Cooper, 41, had earned £668 before tax working 88 hours at Savino’s Pizza wagon at the Grandstand during the TT fortnight.

She also admitted working 362 hours as a self-employed gardener, meaning she had received an overpayment in benefits of £4,421.57.

We previously reported how Cooper had pleaded guilty to a charge of making false representation to obtain benefit and the case had been adjourned for the preparation of a probation report before sentencing.

At the sentencing, prosecutor Michael Jelski told the court how Cooper had been discovered when an inspector from the DHSS saw her in Savino’s Pizza work clothes.

A statement was taken from the pizza company owner, who confirmed that Cooper had been working there during the TT period.

She was interviewed by an officer from Social Security and shown the Income Support forms which she had signed declaring that she had not been working.

Cooper said that she only read the front page and hadn’t read the part about declaring any change in circumstances, but admitted that she understood she should have notified Social Security that she was working.

She was asked if she had worked at any other time and was said to have become emotional, admitting she had been working around 15 hours a week as a gardener for cash in hand between May and October 2016.

When told she may have been able to make a claim legitimately Cooper said she didn’t know you could be self-employed and claim benefits.

Defending Cooper in court her advocate Roger Kane said that his client fully intended to pay the money back and had already started, having it deducted from benefits she was now receiving.

Mr Kane said: ’If she could pay it all back at once she would do. It wasn’t a fraudulent claim from the outset, it was an opportunistic action to make extra cash in hand.

’Despite no evidence of the gardening work she wanted to come clean and volunteered the information.

’The saddest thing is she would have been entitled to Employed Person’s Allowance and still is. The likely cost to the taxpayer wasn’t in fact that much. She wasn’t funding holidays and fancy handbags, she’s a struggling single parent with four children who is just making ends meet.’