A Watford woman who falsely claimed more than £25,000 in benefits has been handed a suspended prison sentence at St Albans Magistrates Court.

Carmelina Ficetola, 48, of Tudor Drive, did not declare she was living with her husband and was overpaid £19,575 by the Department of Work and Pensions in income support and job seeker’s allowance.

In addition, Ficetola was overpaid £6,606 by Watford Borough Council in Council Tax benefit.

She was given a 16 week custodial sentence suspended for 12 months and ordered to pay £85 costs and an £80 victim surcharge for the offences between August 2008 and March 2014.

Garry Turner, fraud manager at the council, said: "These prosecutions show the lengths to which we will go to crack down on people who abuse the system. Benefits are there to help the poorest in our society. People who commit benefit fraud are stealing from the taxpayer and we will not tolerate it."

A Department of Work and Pensions spokesman said: "Most people claiming benefits are honest, but there are the unscrupulous minority who cheat taxpayers’ money out of our welfare system and divert it away from those who really need it.

"People pretending to live alone to get benefits is one of the most common types of benefit fraud, and this case shows our investigators are bringing criminals to justice.

"Failure to report a change in circumstances that may affect your benefit claim, such as a partner moving in, is a crime. Small amounts of weekly overpayments build up and you could end up having to pay back tens of thousands of pounds. People must tell us if their situation changes before it’s too late."

Detective Inspector Matt Phillips, with Herts Police, said: "This case is a great example of police and partners working together to combat benefit fraud, which is of real concern to our communities given the age of austerity we are living in.

"We hope this sentence sends a message to people that this type of fraud will not be tolerated and we will do all we can to target those committing such crimes and deal with them robustly.

"We would encourage anyone who suspects someone to be committing benefit fraud to report it to their local benefits team or anonymously through Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111."

To confidentially report someone who is committing benefit fraud in Watford, phone 0800 458 9200, email fraud@watford.gov.uk, or visit www.watford.gov.uk.

If you suspect someone of fraudulently claiming benefits, call the benefit fraud hotline on 0800 854 440.