A woman has been given a suspended jail sentence after she failed to disclose she had got married while claiming benefits as a single person.

Leeds Crown Court heard on May 10, 2013, Margaret Stockley applied for Employment Support Allowance on the grounds she was unable to work through ill health and that no-one else lived with her at her address in Emscote Grove, Halifax.

But Ben Thomas, prosecuting, told the court only a few weeks later on July 26 she got married to a man who had been living with her since the previous November so the claim was fraudulent from the outset.

She knew she should have notified any change in her circumstances but failed to do so and by the time her dishonesty was uncovered earlier this year she had received £25,963 to which she was not entitled.

When she was questioned about what she had done she initially said they were just friends until shown a copy of her marriage certificate.

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She accepted they had been living together since November 2012 and said her husband knew nothing of what she had done. She said she had debts she wanted to pay off and also wanted to be independent financially from him.

The court heard she told a probation officer she knew her behaviour was stupid and she regretted what she had done.

Ashleigh Metcalfe, representing Stockley, said it had almost come as a relief to her when the offence came to light as she wanted to end it but having got herself into the situation did not know how to stop it.

She was suffering health problems, including having had two strokes, which meant she could not work.

Stockley, 56, admitted fraud and was given a 10 month jail sentence suspended for 18 months with a four month curfew from 9pm to 6am.

Recorder Simon Eckersley told her: “This is a very serious offence which continued for a considerable period.”

“You describe your behaviour as stupid, it wasn’t stupid it was thoroughly dishonest and dishonest from the start. This is not a victimless crime. Each and every person who pays tax are a victim of your crime.”