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'Disabled' benefits cheat who said she could barely walk caught doing CIRCUIT TRAINING at the gym

Anne Bird, 60, wrongly pocketed £21,000 after telling the DWP she needed help bathing and getting dressed

A benefits cheat who pocketed £21,000 by claiming she could barely walk was caught when investigators filmed her at a circuit training class.

Anne Bird, 60, told the DWP she needed help bathing and getting dressed, and that she deserved the highest category of disability benefits after being diagnosed with osteoarthritis.

But she was caught out when undercover investigators spotted her doing circuit training, pilates, aerobics and even spinning classes.

Despite being entitled to some benefits, Bird was overpaid £21,109 in state hand-outs between October 2008 and August 2012.

She was caught on camera joining in a range of activities at Bloxwich Leisure Centre, West Mids, including circuit training, pilates, aerobics and even spinning classes.

In one clip Bird, who claimed she could barely walk, was filmed doing rigorous sit-ups while balancing on a fitness ball while in another she did repeated arm and leg stretches.

She admitted making a false declaration on claim forms to obtain disability allowance when she appeared at Walsall Magistrates Court.

JPs heard Bird, a former postwoman with Royal Mail, was laid off in 2008 due to a degenerative condition. 

Prosecutor Maggie Meakin told the court she was overpaid £21,109 after making false declaration on claim forms to obtain disability allowance.

She said: 'It was confirmed by a doctor that she has osteoarthritis and that she needs help to bathe and dress, and needed help to walk.

'She then applied for the higher rate of disability living allowance claiming at this point that she needed help as she had problems with her knees and hips.

'The department was made aware that from October 2006 to August 2012 she was attending Bloxwich Leisure Centre and was participating in group exercise including pilates and circuit training.

'She then upgraded her membership to sessions which included aerobics.’

Bird, of Pleck, near Walsall, West Mids., suffers from osteoarthritis in her legs and rheumatoid arthritis in her hands.

She had previously denied two counts of dishonestly making a false statement to obtain a benefit, but changed to guilty pleas.

Bird was sentenced to 12 weeks in prison suspended for 12 months and slapped with a six-month supervision order with probation.

She was also ordered to pay £300 costs and a £80 victims’ surcharge.

Lee Preston, defending, told the court: 'She borrowed and also used her pension lump sum to repay the money.

'Her condition is degenerative. She will get less and less mobile as time goes on.

'She was following advice from her doctor and physiotherapist to exercise as much as possible.’

Miss Zaynab Tarajia, representing the probation service, said Bird was unsuitable for carrying out unpaid work in the community due to her continuing health issues.

She said: 'She admits that on occasion she exercised more than she needed to do and admits that she should have told the DWP about her improved health as she would have been entitled to benefits, but less than she received.

'She is extremely remorseful of her actions.'

The court Bird is in receipt of carers’ allowance because she looks after her 62-year-old husband John.