The owner of a glazing company was today handed a suspended prison sentence after admitting benefit fraud.

Andrew Fenton, 45, of Cronk Grianagh, Strang, was convicted of 11 counts of benefit fraud.

The offences were committed between December 2015 and October 2021, and resulted in an overpayment of £36,491 in benefits.

Fenton had pleaded guilty on an agreed basis that the claim for benefit had not been fraudulent from the outset.

The Court of General Gaol Delivery heard that he had failed to disclose that he was the owner of glazing firm Window Wizard.

Deemster Graeme Crook sentenced Fenton to a total of 12 months’ imprisonment, suspended for two years.

He warned him: ‘If you breach the suspended sentence in any way you will be back before me. I will not give you a second chance.’

The court heard that Fenton’s initial claim for incapacity support had been genuine due to an injury.

But he had gone on to claim a variety of benefits without disclosing that he was sole owner of Window Wizard.

Deemster Cook said £36,000 had ‘gone out of the coffers’ and the public had lost out as a result of the dishonesty.

He said Fenton’s personal circumstances made it appropriate to suspend the custodial sentence.