A BENEFITS cheat from Bridgwater has avoided jail after admitting three offences.

Kelly Marie Bell, 39, of Snowberry Close, entered three guilty pleas when she appeared at Taunton Magistrates' Court.

She was instead handed suspended prison sentences at the end of the case brought by the Wessex Fraud Unit.

Bell dishonestly failed to notify the Department for Work and Pensions that her son no longer lived with her between March 2019 and April 2022 and between February 2019 and June 2022.

She also falsely claimed on January 1 2022 that her son was living with her.

The court heard that Bell committed the offences with a view to obtaining Disability Living Allowance, Carers Allowance and Universal Credit she was not entitled to receive.

She was committed to prison for 10 weeks suspended for 12 months on each count, two of those sentences being concurrent, the other consecutive.

She must also pay a victim surcharge of £115 along with a contribution of £40 towards Crown Prosecution Service costs.