Two former councillors allegedly ripped off their own council of thousands of pounds in housing benefits while using a flat in Braintree, a court heard.

The former Labour councillors got between £7,000 and £10,000 in extra benefits over a nine-year period, Chelmsford Crown Court heard yesterday (Wednesday).

James Unsworth claimed he was the tenant of the flat in the town's Trafalgar Court while Alisdair Thompson said he was the landlord.

But Peter Fenn, prosecuting, said: "In October 1999, the police visited Trafalgar Court and both men were there having spent the previous night together sleeping in the same bed.

"Their clothing and personal possessions were intermingled throughout the flat and all the signs were of two people having lived together for some time."

The prosecution said the men were not entitled to claim as many benefits as they received, and the fraud also allowed the evasion of both community charge and council tax.

The alleged fraud came to light after the two were elected as Labour councillors to Braintree District Council, the court heard.

Unsworth, 36, of Trafalgar Court, and Thompson, 37, of Bedells Avenue, Black Notley, both deny conspiracy to defraud between April 1991 and October 1999.

When they were both elected to the council, a check was make to make sure council tax payments were up to date, but it was discovered the pair claimed that Unsworth lived there alone and Thompson was his landlord.

Unsworth was claiming housing benefit and it was being paid directly to Thompson as rent. If it was known that both were living there, then Unsworth would not have received so much benefit, Mr Fenn told the jury.

Mr Fenn said if the men were sharing a flat then the overpayment was in the region of £7,000. If they were in a relationship and sharing a bedroom, then the overpayment was more than £10,000.

False claims enabled both men to get more housing benefit than they were entitled to and got Thompson out of paying council tax altogether, the court heard.

After they were arrested, both men denied Thompson lived at Trafalgar Court. They said they were two university friends.

Thompson occassionally stayed there overnight and they denied any form of relationship with each other.

They also told police their clothes were intermingled because they were both untidy people.

Mr Fenn said both men gave the Trafalgar Court address on their election information and other documents.

The trial continues

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