Woman who won £20k on Premium Bonds still claimed £23k Universal Credit View Image

A woman won £20,000 on Premium Bonds, sold her home and spent a year abroad before falsely claiming thousands in benefits on her return. Despite having a large sum of cash in the bank from the property sale, Diana Lucas, from Folkestone, applied for Universal Credit and a reduction in her council tax bill.

Between 2021 and 2024, she received more than £23,000 after making false statements to the Department for Work and Pensions. But after an anonymous tip-off, the 56-year-old’s accounts were investigated and she was brought before magistrates earlier this year.

Lucas was spared jail when she appeared in court this week, having previously pleaded guilty to dishonestly making a false statement to obtain

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