A BLACKPOOL hotelier faces four months in prison after conning taxpayers out of almost £30,000 by pretending to be her own landlady.

Carol Cuthbertson, formerly of Heddon Close, Isleworth, illegally claimed housing benefits by stealing a friend's identity.

Pleading guilty to seven charges of dishonestly making false statements in order to claim housing benefit, mother of one Cuthbertson was jailed because, according to the judge, her crimes were sophisticated and took place over a long period of time, three years and 10 months.

Cuthbertson, 45, must repay the £29,177.95 she claimed to the council in instalments once released from prison.

Cuthbertson lived with her parents in Heddon Close but was claiming benefits for a house at Hartham Road, Isleworth, and claimed she was not working.

She was caught after an anonymous tip-off to Hounslow Council's fraud investigation team revealed that she worked in the Baguette Bleu sandwich bar in Union Court, Richmond. Closer checks revealed that she also owned the sandwich bar.

She admitted to inspectors that she had forged her friend's name as her landlady and accessed her friend's bank account to cash the benefit cheque. Cuthbertson was caught after using two different spellings for her friend's surname, Clark and Clarke. Investigators for Hounslow Council spent six months making background checks on Cuthbertson before approaching her. In interviews, under caution, Cuthbertson even pretended to be her own landlady until the misspelling error was discovered.

Cuthbertson now runs the Silverdale Hotel, Holmefield Road, Blackpool after moving to the resort last year.

Cllr Jagdish Sharma, executive member for finance, welcomed the jail sentence. He said: "For a long time there has been a feeling that sentences for benefit cheats do not reflect the severity of the crime, but I'm glad that in this case the judge has seen fit to impose a custodial sentence.

"People who illegally claim benefits aren't stealing from a faceless pot of money in the town hall; they're stealing from their neighbours, friends and work colleagues.

"In many cases benefit cheats are already better off than those they are stealing from, because they are greedy rather than needy."