Cheating pub landlady trousered £60,000 in benefits - but has only paid back £700

A pub landlady who fraudulently claimed more than £60,000 in benefits has walked free from court.

Mum-of-four Sandra McBride stole the tens of thousands of pounds in working tax credit and child tax credit over five years. The 47-year-old 'buried her head in the sand' after failing to notify the authorities that her husband had moved back into the marital home.

A court heard today (Tuesday) that she informed council officials in March 2014 that her partner Colin was no longer living at their address. The couple reconciled a 'short period' later but she failed to report this. Mr McBride was in full-time employment.

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Between December 2014 and April 2019, Sandra McBride, now the proprietor of the Greenland Fishery Hotel in Neston, Wirrall, claimed a total of £62,874.06 which she was not entitled to. McBride, who has no previous convictions, has so far only paid back only £710, the Liverpool Echo reports.

Matthew O'Neill, defending, told Liverpool Crown Court: "The defendant accepts that she had been living with her husband for some time and they broke up for a short period of time. That's when the fraud in fact started.

"It was a simple case of her burying her head in the sand, albeit for a very lengthy period of time. The issue today for the court is whether any custodial sentence can be suspended or not.

"The defendant is described as a very caring mother who has brought her children up very well. In effect, her youngest child has now moved back in with her as she suffers from a number of various conditions which require her mother to assist her on a daily basis.

"A prison sentence would in my