A DERBY County steward who falsely claimed more than £33,000 in benefits without his wife's knowledge has been jailed

Peter Torr pleaded guilty at Derby Crown Court to claiming income support for more than seven years on the basis that neither he nor his wife, Ann, were in paid employment.

He told the Department for Work and Pensions that he was incapable of work due to a variety of health conditions, including sciatica, osteoporosis and asthma.

In fact, the 55-year-old had been earning up to £75 a week as a steward at Derby County home fixtures since 1997, while his wife – unaware of her husband's dishonesty – was working full-time at local IT firm Davison Richards, earning around £220 a week.

The hearing was told that in recent years, Torr, of Draycott Road, Borrowash, also held a full-time position at Derby County as a ground maintenance employee.

Yesterday, he was sentenced to six months in prison after admitting receiving £42,570.33 in benefits between January 1998 and October 2005, of which he was actually entitled to about £9,000.

He is able to pay back £28,750, meaning the net loss to the state is about £5,000.

The hearing was told that Torr, who does have osteoporosis, failed to disclose a change in circumstances after he recovered from a back injury that had prevented him from working in the mid-1990s.

He told his wife he was working full-time as a security guard and she, therefore, had no reason to suspect he was committing benefit fraud.

Stuart Lody, for Torr, said his client was prone to anxiety attacks manifested by claustrophobic spaces and asked Judge Andrew Hamilton to adjourn sentencing for a report by a psychologist.

But the Judge refused, saying Torr had already absconded while on bail and had attempted suicide.

Mr Lody added that the public "would not think it outrageous" if his client was given a community service order rather than a jail sentence.

But Judge Hamilton said: "I would imagine the public would shriek in horror if a person who obtained £34,000 he was not entitled to was not given an immediate custodial sentence. It would be horrendous."

He ordered Torr to pay back £28,750 by July 23 and gave him a six-month prison sentence, which had been reduced due to his guilty plea and lack of previous convictions.

He also gave Torr a one-month concurrent sentence for absconding from court on January 16.

The Government's anti-fraud minister, Tony McNulty, welcomed the sentence.

He said: "We are catching more and more of those who steal money intended for vulnerable people, and when we catch them, they face heavy penalties."