A dole cheat who kept his job at a concrete factory secret for four years illegally claimed benefits worth more than £25,000, a court heard.

Robert Stewart, 43, who signed more than 70 forms falsely declaring he was not working and was entitled to income support, may be jailed for more than two years.

Stewart, of Markham Street, York, pleaded guilty to five charges of illegally claiming benefit on dates between April 1997 and January 1998.

Mike Fisher, prosecuting, told Carlisle magistrates how Stewart, formerly of Wigton, Cumbria, began claiming income support in September 1992 and visited the unemployment office in Carlisle every two weeks to sign a declaration that he was not working.

"He did declare that his wife was working part-time, but what he didn't declare was that he was working for the Atlas Concrete factory (In Silloth, Cumbria) from August 1994 to April 1998.

"The total loss to the public purse in this case, including council tax benefit, was £25,085. The DSS say these are offences of serious and deliberate dishonesty, perpetrated over a considerable period of time."

When he was interviewed by DSS investigators last year, Stewart said he began claiming benefits illegally at a time when he and his wife were financially at rock bottom.

His £200-a-week job at Atlas was initially on a trial basis.

"It wasn't as if I was hiding it from the Inland Revenue," he told officials, adding:

"We had some debts and we would probably have lost the house. The job was on a trial basis for a year, and I just got into a routine."

Mr Fisher explained that legal reports have shown that defendants convicted of similar offences involving more than £17,000 can expect to face between two and three yeas in jail.

Michael Williams, for Stewart, said his client had no previous convictions and appeared to have "buried his head in the sand".

Stewart, who had been through marital problems, was arrested on a warrant in York after he spent time in the United States with his sister.

His absence had come at an unfortunate time, said Mr Williams, and there had been some confusion over letters going to an old address, so Stewart had not been aware of the date of his last court appearance.

Magistrates committed Stewart to Carlisle Crown Court for sentence. He was granted bail on condition that he reports to York police station every Saturday.

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