A 37-YEAR-OLD man has been jailed and his wife ordered to do community service for benefit fraud.

Darren Roffey and his wife Alison, aged 36, both formerly of Chessington Way, West Wickham, had pleaded guilty to cheating Bromley Council out of more than £30,000.

Croydon Crown Court heard Darren Roffey had failed to declare three bank accounts which over a six-year period had more than £234,000 paid into them and carried on claiming housing and council tax benefits.

He was jailed for 14 months for wrongly claiming benefits totalling £26,561 between July 2001 and October 2004 and between March 2005 and May last year.

Alison Roffey was given a community punishment order requiring 120 hours of unpaid work and ordered to pay £1,000 costs.

She falsely claimed £3,698 in housing benefit from February to October 2004.