A fraudster who conned Sutton taxpayers out of more than £60,000 has been prosecuted after spending years trying to wriggle out of being punished.

Worcester Park woman Lynne Hampson, whose son Sam Hampson is a professional rugby player, was found guilty of falsely claiming income support and council tax benefit while earning thousands of pounds each month by renting out rooms in her seven-bedroom Langley Avenue property four years ago.

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Hampson's rugby-playing son Sam

But she has spent time since then trying to get out of being punished while legal experts unravelled the false identities she tried to use to make her fraudulent claims.

Now she has finally been punished after a judge at Croydon Crown Court last week sentenced her to 28 days in prison suspended for a year.

Sutton Council’s strategic director Gerald Almeroth said: "Fraudulently claiming taxpayers money is a very serious matter.

"Our investigation team has worked hard to uncover the full extent of Ms Hampson’s deception. It has been a drawn out process because she was using multiple aliases to cover her tracks.

"We will continue to ensure that our borough maintains its reputation for fairness.

"It is important that we catch people who are cheating the system and picking the pockets of law-abiding taxpayers in the process."

Over the course of five years Hampson told the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) she received just £20 a week for rooms in her house - despite it having a swimming pool in the back garden.

This allowed her to claim substantial amounts in benefits.

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The Langley Avenue house - complete with swimming pool 

In the end she was caught after an angry tenant contacted the DWP in 2007. An investigation revealed she earned as much as £540 per month for her rooms. 

She pleaded guilty to two counts of fraud in 2009 but it has taken four years to finally sentence her after she twice tried to withdraw her guilty pleas.

He son is a professional rugby star and has played for both Wasps and London Irish. He is now an ambassador for nutrition firm Protein World.

He had nothing to do with the fraud.