DOLE cheat Darren Batchelor plundered more than £22,000 he was not entitled to by claiming benefits while he was working.

Batchelor, 30, formerly of Abbey View Road, worked as a contract cleaner at Honda but continued to claim income support, housing benefit and council tax benefit.

But, after hearing he had never been in trouble before and might have been entitled to Working Tax Credits had he been honest, a judge imposed a suspended sentence.

Nigel Fryer, prosecuting, told Swindon Crown Court that Batchelor’s initial claim for benefits was genuine when it was made in 2003.

He was living with his partner and her two children and, after getting income support he automatically qualified for the housing and council tax benefits. But, in September 2005, he started working for a company which had a contract to clean at the Honda plant.

The court heard he stayed there when it was taken over by Hills Waste and then worked for Pertemps where he was in August 2008 when he was investigated.

Mr Fryer said during that time Batchelor was given £22,239.32, which he was not entitled to as he had not declared that he was working.

He said when Batchelor was interviewed by investigators he initially denied working.

Batchelor pleaded guilty to four counts of making a false representation to obtain benefits.

Andrew Hobson, defending, said: “You may wonder why a man with no history of dishonesty offended in this way. He feared that had he declared his job when he first got it he would have lost his housing benefit and his council tax benefit.

“He probably would have, but he thought he would lose the roof over the heads of him and his partner and her two children.

“Probably he would have qualified for Working Tax Credit.”

He said Batchelor received the money over three years and it had been spent on family living rather than luxuries.

Since leaving school about 12 years ago he said his client completed a computer course at Swindon College and has always had a good work record.

Because of the latest downturn in the economy he said he was unemployed and living with friends but hoped to get settled accommodation sorted out.

Judge Euan Ambrose said: “The irony of this case is that if you had done what you should have done, that is tell the Department For Work And Pensions that you had found work, in the type of income that you were receiving the overwhelming likelihood is that you would have been entitled to some other form of benefit.

“I don’t know how much that would have been but at the time you were living in a council house with a partner and two young children.

“It is not difficult to see in those circumstances you very well might have been entitled to some form of tax credit.”

He imposed an eight-week jail term, suspended for 18 months and ordered Batchelor to do 300 hours of community service and pay £250 in costs.