A CARE assistant from Marlow falsley claimed more than £15,000 in benefits over four years.

Linda Carter, 43, of Deanfield Close, was jailed for nine months after committing six counts of benefit fraud.

The mother-of-one had been claiming income support while failing to declare three different jobs, including looking after people with mental health problems in Marlow.

A spokesman for the Department for Work and Pensions said that following a tip-off received in April 2003 fraud investigators started looking into Carter's claim for benefits.

They discovered that while claiming income support she used her married name of Linda Grant to work as a health care assistant at Marlow Community Hospital, a carer for the Fremantle Trust's residential home in Prospect Road, Marlow, and a sales assistant for an Iceland store in north Wales.

Jane Gow, defending, told Aylesbury Crown Court on Monday, May 22, that Carter's actions were motivated by concerns over her finances and to fund her husband's drug habit.

She said: "Mrs Carter remains firm that her main motivation was because of her financial circumstances. Considerable financial strains were upon her."

The court heard how Carter's deception started in April 1999 and lasted until January 2000 before beginning again in May 2000 up to March 2003.

She was charged with falsely claiming benefits in 2003 and found guilty by a jury last month.

Judge Morton Jack told Carter: "I reject the mitigation that you were acting over this long period under the duress of your husband.A substantial amount of money, £15,408, was obtained by your fraud over a long period of time."

The judge sentenced Carter, who had pleaded not guilty, to nine months in prison of which, he said, she would serve half before being released.

Anti-fraud minister James Plaskitt, said: "Benefit cheats take money intended for the most vulnerable in our society."

Anyone suspecting fraud should call 0800 8854440