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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