Keen golfer faces jail after pocketing £26k in benefits despite entering club tournaments

A KEEN golfer has been found guilty of benefits fraud after wrongly pocketing £26,000 at the same time as competing in championship tournaments.

Fraudster Alan Bannister playing golfSWNS

Alan Bannister was investigated by the DWP

Fraudster Alan Bannister claimed he could barely walk 50 yards at a time, but today a court heard how he was a "club champion" at his local golf course and had won a number of tournaments.

He even had a taxpayer-funded mobility car which he used to drive to the golf club to play with several groups.

Bannister, 54, was investigated by the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) who filmed him completing a 5,400 yard course in just four-and-a-half hours.

He had started claiming Disability Living Allowance in 2007, declaring he had a form of arthritis called Ankylosing Spondylitis and that he needed help raising his arms and putting on his shirt and shoes.

The court heard how Bannister said he could only walk 50 yards before experiencing "severe discomfort" and how it would take him 10 to 15 minutes to cover this distance.

Prosecutor Stuart McLeese said: "Bannister made dishonest representations about the extent of his disabilities and needs and failed to notify the DWP about what his true care and mobility needs were.

"He didn't accurately record the affect his condition had on him and then didn't notify the DWP at any time that his abilities were greater than he indicated in those claim forms."

Alan Bannister playing golf SWNS

Bannister claimed he could barely walk 50 yards at a time

An anonymous tipster called the DWP in 2012 to tell them how Bannister was a keen golfer.

Officials then filmed him that year driving in his mobility car to St Andrews Major golf club in Barry, South Wales, and completing the 5,400 yard course in just four-and-a-half hours.

The unbelievable footage shows him walking to the first tee with his clubs on a trolley and then teeing off before walking 400 yards down the fairway without a problem.

In an interview with DWP officers, Bannister admitted knowing that he should tell them if there was any improvement in his arthritis.

The fact you are getting on and fighting your illness is admirable but it doesn't mean the state has to pay for it

Department of Work and Pensions officer

He said: "I have to do something if I am not working - I can't sit in the house and melt away.

"I have got to get out there and get on with my life. I have to be up two or three hours before I can play golf.

"My illness is there all the time. I never ever thought I wasn't entitled."

A DWP officer told Bannister: "The fact you are getting on and fighting your illness is admirable but it doesn't mean the state has to pay for it."

In an interview, Bannister said he still suffered "flare ups" around six times a month and had to take strong medication in order to play golf.

The court was told Bannister dishonestly claimed £26,090.55 from 2007 until 2012 in Disability Living Allowance.

Bannister denied committing fraud by false representation and dishonestly obtaining money transfers by deception, but was found guilty by a jury after a four-day trial.

He will be sentenced next month and was today told that he could face jail.

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