A BENEFITS cheat from Crowborough has escaped a jail term despite conning the council into paying him more than £14,000 in handouts.Paul Smeeth, 49, of Southridge Rise was given a six-month prison sentence, suspended for a year, at Hastings Magistrates' Court after being found guilty of three counts of failing to notify a change in circumstances.The court heard how Smeeth conned thousands of pounds out of Wealden District Council by not telling the authority that he had £40,000 in...
↧