A York man admitted falsely obtaining more than £1,700 in housing benefit when he appeared before city magistrates today (1 February).

Andrew Dutton (23) of Holgate Road had been claiming housing benefit since June 2005 based on his low income of £65 a week from part-time work with roofing firms.

A eagle-eyed housing benefit assessor working for City of York Council reported Andrew Dutton to the fraud investigation team for falsifying documents. During the subsequent investigation, it was discovered that the employer's verification forms that Andrew Dutton had supplied to support his claim were forgeries.

The investigating officer also found an advert in the 2005-06 edition of Yellow Pages for A. Dutton Roofing, Holgate Road, which suggested that Andrew Dutton was actually working as a roofer on a self-employed basis. In response to a request from the council, YELL produced copies of the order forms used by A. Dutton Roofing for advertisements placed in the 2006-07 Yellow Pages. In total the adverts cost £2,737.76 and were paid for from a bank account in the name of A. Dutton.

As a result of his fraudulent actions between 20 June 2005 and 16 April 2006, Mr Dutton received £1,761.29 in housing benefit to which he was not entitled.

Magistrates made Dutton the subject of a two-year conditional discharge and ordered him to pay £500 in costs.

Max Thomas, City of York Council's audit and fraud manager, said: "Although Mr Dutton failed to cooperate with the investigation, the council was able to gather the evidence needed to prove that he had forged documents.

"This case should therefore send a clear message to anyone who believes that they can deliberately withhold information relevant to their claim. The council will take action where it is found that people have committed benefit fraud."

Anyone with information is encouraged about suspected fraud to contact the council's confidential fraud hotline on 01904 552935 or e-mail its investigations team at benefit.fraud@york.gov.uk