Mother shaved her son's head and eyebrows to pretend he had cancer for THREE YEARS so she could claim £55,000 in benefits

She pretended her son was having chemotherapy when he was aged between four and seven

A mother shaved her young son's head and eyebrows to make it look like he suffered from cancer so she could illegally claim thousands in benefits, a court has heard.

The 36-year-old, who cannot be named, admitted pretending that her son was undergoing chemotherapy for three years so she could claim £55,000 in benefits.



Gloucester Crown Court was told she kept the pretence up when her son was aged between four and seven.

Disgrace: A mother shaved her young son's head and eyebrows to make it look like he suffered from cancer so she could illegally claim thousands in benefits, Gloucester crown court, pictured, has heard

Prosecutor Lisa Hennessy said: 'The Crown say the defendant claimed that her child had cancer and shaved his head and eyebrows and claimed her other children had various disabilities never diagnosed.'

In total, the woman claimed £34,396 in disability living allowances and £18,734 in child cancer benefits despite her son, who is now nine, being in good health.

The woman, from Berkeley, Gloucestershire, also admitted fraud to obtain disability living allowance for her daughter by claiming she was ill.



The case follows a probe by police and the Department for Work and Pensions.

The mother was due to be sentenced today but the case could not go ahead because a report on her from a psychiatrist did not arrive in time for a pre-sentence report to be prepared by the probation service.



Judge Jamie Tabor QC, who was dismayed at yet another delay in the long-running case, bailed the woman until November 2.



Law: Judge Jamie Tabor, QC, pictured, told the woman she faces jail

He told her she will be sentenced then and that she can expect to go to jail.

At an earlier hearing the woman had admitted one charge of cruelty to her son between January 1, 2008 and May 26, 2010, one charge of forging a doctor’s letter and eight charges of fraud to get benefits including disability living allowance for her son.



She denied nine other charges of fraud, cruelty and forgery which the

prosecution did not accept at the last hearing.



However, Mrs Hennessy said today that her pleas were now accepted and there will be no further action taken on the outstanding charges she has denied.



Mrs Hennessy told the court today that the investigation had been a ‘lengthy saga’ over the last three years and it had been hoped the woman could be sentenced today.



But she said the psychiatric report from Dr Jim Laidlaw had not arrived until Friday and this had not given time for a pre-sentence report to be prepared.



Judge Tabor said he could not understand why it had taken so long - and he questioned whether a pre-sentence report would really assist in the case.



Joe Maloney, defending, said 'She does have problems. I only saw Dr Laidlaw’s report yesterday and the first time she has seen it was 30 minutes ago.



'This is a delicate case where it is necessary to be very sensitive in dealing with the issues the case presents. It is not straightforward.



'It has been a long and tiring journey.'



He said Dr Laidlaw’s report was ‘in many ways compatible with a previous

psychiatric report.



Mr Maloney said he would like to take detailed instructions from the woman and her partner about the contents of the reports before she is sentenced.



Judge Tabor was reluctant to delay the case again, saying 'This lady is in very serious trouble and she is entitled to know where she stands.'



He asked how much money was involved in the frauds and Mrs Hennessy said it was at least £55,000 but could be as much as £70,000. However, the most serious aspect of the case was the child cruelty, she said.



Judge Tabor said the medical report made clear that ‘conniving behaviour over a long period of time is not normally associated with a seriously ill woman.’

He said he did not want the woman to get ‘false hope’ that the reports would spare her from jail.



'This will be the last adjournment of this case,' he told the woman. 'I am

satisfied the court already has sufficient information to deal with the case

but I am also sensitive to the fact that you have not had the opportunity to

fully digest the import of Dr Laidlaw’s report.'



The judge added: 'She faces imprisonment and the pre-sentence report writer needs to know that.'

He said there would be a number of other issues for the court to consider such as her future access to children.



He told her 'I regret that I cannot deal with you today. You have been waiting a long time and you know you are facing a sentence almost certainly of imprisonment. The sooner you get on with that the better for all concerned.'



From the dock the woman said 'Three years.' She was bailed until November 2.



At today’s hearing she was in the dock with her 42 year old partner who was jointly charged with her with perverting the course of justice and forgery.



But prosecutor Mrs Hennessy said the Crown was no longer proceeding against him and she offered no evidence.



The judge formally found the man not guilty and discharged him after granting a defendant’s costs order.





