A YORK mother-of-four narrowly avoided jail today after cheating her way to almost £22,000 in state benefits.

Miranda Dale, 40, of Byland Avenue, Bell Farm, York, admitted falsely claiming a total of £21,906.60 in income support, council tax benefit and housing benefit between November 1, 1999, and September 9, 2001. She had hidden the fact she had a joint bank account with her husband, Stuart Hawkins Dale, and was living with him.

Daniel Curtis, prosecuting at York Crown Court, on behalf of the Department of Work and Pensions and City of York Council, said Dale had been claiming income support on the basis that she was a single mother since 1991. But she failed to inform officials when she opened a joint bank account with her husband and started living with him again.

Gordon Lakin, for Dale, said the money had not been spent on high living.

He said: "It wasn't spent on jewellery, it wasn't spent on foreign holidays. It was spent on keeping four children and the family.

"Whilst they were living slightly better than they would have done, they were not living in the lap of luxury."

He added she had suffered a family tragedy when her brother died of cancer.

Mr Lakin asked Judge Christopher Attwooll to keep Dale out of jail, saying her four children, aged between six and 18, would suffer if she was imprisoned.

Dale was given a 240-hour community punishment order, the maximum for an order of this kind. No order was made for costs or compensation although the Department of Work and Pensions will be taking steps to reclaim the money itself.

Judge Attwooll said: "I accept you were in a turbulent relationship at this time. I am not going to deprive your three younger children of their mother."

He said the length of her community punishment order reflected how close she had come to being sent to prison.

Updated: 15:17 Monday, July 21, 2003