'I thought I'd be found out one day'

They said some cases in their National Fraud Initiative (NFI) report were "blatant and shocking" - what were some of the examples their research revealed, and what action was taken?

A man running a fruit and vegetable stall was found to be claiming council tax benefit, income support, incapacity benefit, and disability living allowance. The fraud came to light because South Holland District Council in Lincolnshire linked housing benefits to files on market traders.

The man was also running several businesses from his home, as his wife claimed carer's allowance for looking after him.

He owned various vehicles, including a Mercedes convertible sports car with personalised number plates, had savings of more than �100,000 and took "lavish and expensive holidays".

Final figures are still being calculated but he is so far estimated to have been overpaid �40,000, and the council has begun preparing its case for prosecution.

An investigation of housing rents by Southwark Council found one woman who had secured a council house by claiming she was homeless actually owned a property in another London borough, Barking and Dagenham.

Further investigations revealed she had also obtained another council house in Southwark by using a different name, and was sub-letting both of her council properties in the borough.

Both tenancies were terminated.

The report said local authorities would be expected to prosecute in such cases but in this area often had to make a "trade-off between the powerful deterrent of bringing a criminal prosecution... and taking civil action which enables them to recover the property more quickly, thereby helping families in need more effectively".

A woman who was claiming benefits for single people had actually been living with her husband for 15 years.

Over seven years, she had been claiming the 25% council tax discount given to people living alone and housing benefit based on her being the sole occupant.

About �2,000 worth of discounts and some �13,000 of fraudulently claimed benefits are in the process of being recovered.

She is quoted in the report as saying: "I thought I would be found out one day. I know lots of people claiming single person discount fraudulently, no-one checks."

The widow of a blue badge holder in Croydon, south London, was found to have regularly reapplied for her husband's disabled parking permit - for nine years after his death.

In another case in Bexley, south east London, a parking attendant noticed a lone driver was using a blue badge belonging to a person of the opposite sex, and issued a ticket.

The badge holder appealed against the ticket and was almost cleared on a technicality, but the NFI revealed the original badge holder had died.

The London of Borough of Bexley prosecuted the driver for providing a false declaration.

A student nurse was removed from a course after NFI checks found they were in the country illegally. Immigration visa records were matched with payrolls at Surrey and Borders Partnership NHS Trust.

The trawl also revealed the person was claiming housing benefit. With help from Croydon Council the NHS trust prosecuted the former student and they were given a jail sentence, at the end of which the judge recommended deportation.

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