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Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Fit as a fiddler: Benefits cheat who pocketed £17,000 by claiming he could barely walk is caught out doing a 15 mile TRIATHLON


A benefit cheat who helped himself to £17,000 by claiming he could barely walk was caught out completing a 15 mile triathlon.



Keep fit fanatic Anthony Connor, 39, said a debilitating stroke left him with a limp and he could only walk 75 metres in five minutes. He also said he needed help getting in and out of the bath and getting up and down the stairs. But Connor’s run of luck ran out after investigators secretly filmed him swimming, cycling and running for a total of 25km during the Tatton Park triathlon in Knutsford, Cheshire. The footage showed Connor whizzing past spectators on his bicycle during a 19k sprint and later raising his arms in victory as he completed a 5k run. He completed the entire course in just two and a half hours.


Today Connor, from Baguley, Greater Manchester was facing jail after he admitted a charge of failing to notify the DWP of change of circumstances. Manchester magistrates were told he had initially claimed benefit legitimately in 2006 after suffering a stroke that year. As well as disability handouts he also claimed income support, housing benefits and council tax benefit. Mr Harold Smith, prosecuting said: 'The defendant said he had been left with a weakness in his left side and couldn’t walk more than 75 metres in five minutes. 'He said he walked with a limp and he needed someone with him, seven days a week, to ensure his safety. He claimed he needed help getting in and out of the bath and getting up and down the stairs.'

But after a tip off, officials from the DWP began filming Connor and caught up with him as he took part in the triathlon on September 9, 2010. It also emerged he had become a self employed floor polisher and had missed only 10 out of 81 jobs since December 2010. Mr Smith added: 'He was also seen carrying tools and equipment from his van to a private dwelling without difficulty. Witnesses said he carried out labouring duties, loading and unloading from a van and cleaning up when work was complete.'

The court heard the over payments from June 2010 to July 2011 were £5850.29 in income support, £3997.64 in disability living allowance, £6187.34 in housing benefit and £1.057.80 in council tax benefit.

In mitigation defence lawyer Mr Chris Joseph said: 'The effects of the stroke are still present today. 'Whenever he has to speak for a long period of time he starts slurring his words. At the time of the stroke he was suffering hugely. 'All of his life he had been working self-employed as a tiler but when it came plain that it wasn’t something that could carry on he had to see what he could claim at that point - the initial claim in 2006 was genuine. 'The recovery process, especially for something like a stroke, is complex - it’s not black and white. It was the case that some days were better than others. 'Some days he felt he could get up and work but some days he felt he could be wiped out for days on end. 'In that grey area he became reliant on his benefits and took it too far.'

Mr Joseph said Connor had entered the triathlon as a 'challenge to himself.' He added: 'That was something that he was never certain he could do in the first place. His aim was not to have a great time - it was simply to finish. 'That had been a goal he had set himself. But he suffered for some weeks after the triathlon and was completely out of action. 'He now works as a floor polisher, he’s self-employed and has a partner. It was a case of burying his head in the sand and becoming reliant on benefits rather than an attempt to deceive.'

Mr Joseph said Connor, in a renewal of his benefits in 2009, gave his intentions about starting the business as a floor polisher. 'He tells me he was making it quite clear that he wished to come off benefits as soon as he could but he simply took too long. 'He’s a working man, he’s still suffering but he tried to work as often as he can. He has a 9-year-old child from a previous relationship, who he sees on a regular basis. 'He doesn’t know what his future holds for him - it is a concern for him that at such a young age he suffered such a serious health problem. 'He is somebody who has overcome adversity and put his life back into order and going back to work. 'He’s now paying for the mistake that he has made - this prosecution is likely to have significant impact on his work and reputation.'

Connor will be sentenced later following the preparation of reports. Minister for Welfare Reform Lord Freud said after the case: 'We have a duty to the taxpayer and our customers to make sure that these vital benefits only go to those who need them. 'Benefit fraud takes money away from the most vulnerable. It is a crime and we are committed to stopping it by catching criminals at the front line and making sure our reforms make the benefit system less open to abuse.'

Daily Mail UK
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