A repeat offender was this week put on probation for 12 months for a £1,522 benefit fraud.

Jessica Lynn Cracknell pleaded guilty to two counts of the offence.

She has already paid back the money which was overpaid to her.

This was 33-year-old Cracknell’s second conviction for the same offence as she was given a one-year suspended sentence in February 2021 for a £34,848 benefit fraud, which she was said to still be paying back at a rate of £30 per week.

After she appeared in court in 2021, the Department of Health and Social Care took the unusual step of issuing a press release about it, saying her conviction was a credit to the hard work of department investigators. Click here to read our story about it.

In this week's case, prosecuting advocate Barry Swain told the court that the latest offence took place between March 13 and May 30 last year, while Cracknell was claiming income support benefit.

She failed to declare that she had started working again after a period of illness.

This had resulted in her being overpaid £1,522.52 in benefits which she was not entitled to.

Mr Swain submitted that the offence was suitable for summary court sentencing.

A probation report said that Cracknell had engaged well during her previous supervision which had ended in February 2022.

She was said to now be working in an accounts department for an employer who was remaining supportive of her.

The report said that she had suffered from mental health issues at the time of the offence.

Cracknell said she had begun working part-time in a Douglas shop but admitted she had not declared this.

Defence advocate David Reynolds asked for credit to be given for his client’s guilty pleas and said that she had attended a voluntary interview and made full admissions.

Mr Reynolds said that the benefits claim was not fraudulent from the outset and asked the court to follow the recommendation of the probation report, for a period of probation.

High Bailiff Jayne Hughes also ordered Cracknell, who lives in Ballachrink Drive, Onchan, to pay £125 prosecution costs at a rate of £25 per week.