A 46-YEAR-OLD Brighton man who fraudulently claimed £6,441 in benefits has been jailed for a year.

Christopher Thornton, of Clovers End, Hollingbury, persistently claimed the benefits while doing manual work. He claimed disability living allowance and income support while doing a series of jobs around Sussex including lifting work for Sussex Port Forwarding Authority, Brighton Ferries Limited and Harman Plant Hire. He pleaded guilty to three offences relating to obtaining benefit by deception and asked for a further 116 offences to be taken into consideration when he appeared at Lewes Crown Court. Miss Recorder Hamilton QC told him: "These are very serious offences committed against every man and woman of this country. "These are decent people who are paying their taxes. You have a pretty miserable record and deception is not something new to you." Thornton dishonestly obtained £1,870 in income support and £4,571 disability living allowance. Louise Inward, prosecuting, said Thornton was able to do a variety of manual work yet he claimed that he had a bad back and was entitled to the disability living allowance. Ray Barnet, defending, said: he lived with his partner and two teenage children. "There was a family crisis over money which led him to commit these offences. He tells me he has a back problem."

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