Three benefit cheats who stole £70,000 from the taxpayer have had their cases heard in court.

Stephen Winter Gill of Rotherfield Crescent, Brighton, fraudulently claimed over £29,000 in benefits while running a lettings agency.

The 32-year-old was handed a ten month suspended sentence and was ordered to pay £1,980 costs, £80 victim surcharge and carry out 180 hours unpaid work at Brighton magistrates’ on Thursday.

Mr Gill told council officers he was paying rent to his mother and needed to claim housing benefit, but the council discovered no evidence of rent being paid and also failed to declare that he was running a lettings agency.

Alieu Marr, of Farm Road in Hove also pleaded guilty to charges of claiming £29,406.38 in housing benefit and £1,234.20 in council tax benefit and to having a forged visa stamp on his passport.

The 40-yeard-old said he was British and eligible to claim benefits in UK but his visa to remain in the country had expired in 2003.

He will be sentenced at a crown court at a later date.

Magistrates also found Lee Simpson, of Stanley Street in Brighton, guilty of falsely claiming £10,952.44 in housing benefit when he was not living at the address for which he was claiming.

The 46-year-old failed to attend court and a warrant was issued for his arrest.