A CASH-STRAPPED Carlisle man illegally claimed £24,000 in benefits because drugs criminals put him under pressure to settle a debt, a court heard.

Thomas Thompson, 43, continued to dishonestly claim housing benefit and job seeker’s allowance for three years without telling officials that he was earning money from a variety of jobs.

At the city’s Rickergate court, the defendant, of Scalegate Road, Carlisle, admitted two benefit fraud offences.

Prosecutor George Shelley said Thompson committed the offences between June 18, 2018, and November 12, 2021, illegally claiming just under £12,000 in job seeker’s allowance and £12,378 in housing benefit.

“Essentially, Mr Thompson failed to notify the relevant agencies of a change in his circumstances,” said the prosecutor. “Evidence came to light that he had undertaken gainful employment at various establishments.

“When he was interviewed, he made full admissions.”

The defendant’s criminal record comprised of 43 previous offences, including other dishonesty matters. The prosecutor accepted that when Thompson initially claimed the benefits his actions were not fraudulent.

Chris Toms, defending, reiterated that point, saying that Thompson’s initial claims had been entirely legitimate. But lawyer spoke of “traumatic events in Thompson’s past, including a jail term for involvement in supplying Class A drugs.

Mr Toms said: “The people he was supplying drugs for grabbed him when he came out of prison and told him: ‘Either you pay back the money you owe us in instalments or you work for us, selling drugs.

“He chose the lesser of two evils, deciding to pay back the money rather than go back to the drugs world.

“Frankly, the money from the benefits kept him going when he gave them the money from his earnings.” During the pandemic, Thompson was a key worker, making food parcel deliveries.

Mr Toms added: “Essentially, he put his head in the sand about the whole mess that he was in. He was in a desperate financial situation.”

Magistrates noted the significant amount of benefits which Thompson illegally claimed - a total of £24,158 and the long period of time involved.

Although they accepted that there was duress, they said the offences were so serious that only custody could be justified.

They jailed Thompson for 17 weeks, with one week of that period representing a replacement sentence for an earlier community order which the defendant failed to complete before his arrest.