A WOMAN who claimed almost £10,000 in benefits while earning up to £92 a week in a pub has been warned that she could face prison.

York Magistrates' Court heard that Donna Marie Donnelly continued to claim Income Support despite working for almost two years as a barmaid and cleaner in the Dick Turpin pub, in Moorcroft Road, York.

Donnelly, 36, of Wenham Road, Woodthorpe, pleaded guilty to two counts of obtaining benefit by making false representation on July 1, 2003 and on August 12, 2003.

She also asked for 91 similar offences committed between November 2001 and September 2003 to be taken into account.

Tom Gent, who prosecuted the case on behalf of the Department for Work and Pensions, told magistrates that Donnelly had received income support since 1997, which she had to sign for at the Post Office.

On both July 1 and August 12, 2003, Donnelly had not declared that she was working at the pub, Mr Gent said.

The overpayment Donnelly received, including the 91 offences taken into account, was £9,894.23

Mr Gent said efforts would now be made to recover the overpaid money through civil means.

Magistrates ordered that an all-options pre-sentence report be made and Donnelly, who remains on conditional bail, will be sentenced on June 9.

Earlier this month, City of York Council pledged to step up its crackdown on benefit fraud after being slammed by a Government watchdog. Inspectors from the Benefit Fraud Inspectorate (BFI) last year accused the council of wasting almost £1 million through overpayment, mismanagement and lost grants.

The council said there had been "enormous progress" since the December 2004 report. Max Thomas, head of audit and fraud at the city council, said: "There is a 24-hour benefit fraud hotline that can be used in the strictest of confidence, on 01904 552935."

Updated: 09:41 Saturday, May 21, 2005