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former chef who stated on benefits forms he was unable to participate in sport – despite playing off a handicap of six at his local golf course – has walked free from court. Alan Bulpin, 52, denied two counts of benefit fraud, amounting to just under £8,000 since July 2007.
Yesterday, a jury cleared him of dishonestly making a false representation on his Disability Living Allowance (DLA) benefit form.
However, the three-man, nine-woman jury convicted Bulpin of dishonestly failing to disclose information about his condition.
Judge Paul Darlow gave Bulpin a five-week prison sentence, suspended for two years. He was also given 150 hours' community service.
Bulpin, of Laburnum Close in Falmouth, Cornwall, initially applied for DLA in 2006 after suffering a heart attack the previous year.
However, after having the claim rejected, Bulpin sought the advice of Jenny Richards, an experienced welfare benefits advisor from the town's Beacon Resource Centre.
He was subsequently awarded the highest form of mobility benefit, usually reserved for double amputees or those unable to walk.
Bulpin told Truro Crown Court information provided on the form – including the claim that it took him "five to ten minutes to walk 50 to 100 yards" – represented his physical condition on "his worst days". He said Mrs Richards had specifically asked for a worst case scenario in order to secure the benefit.
His form also stated he was unable to play sport. But Bulpin was a regular at Falmouth Golf Club, playing "at least three rounds a week". He also had a paper round, delivering up to six days a week, for a short time. Hidden camera footage captured by the Department for Work and Pensions, played before the court, showed Bulpin walking the 6,000-yard course (5.5 km), squatting to read the line of his putts, and climbing stairs to reach a viewing platform – all exercises his benefit form stated he had difficulty doing. Bulpin, who is deaf in one ear, said he did not mention he played golf on the benefit form because he "did not consider it a sport". Mrs Richards told the court she was unaware Bulpin was a golfer because he had not told her so. She added: "I am not happy filling any form in if I feel they are not telling me the correct things."
Welcoming the sentence, Lord Freud, minister for welfare reform, said: "We have a duty to the taxpayer and our customers to make sure that these vital benefits only go to those who need them."
former chef who stated on benefits forms he was unable to participate in sport – despite playing off a handicap of six at his local golf course – has walked free from court. Alan Bulpin, 52, denied two counts of benefit fraud, amounting to just under £8,000 since July 2007.
Yesterday, a jury cleared him of dishonestly making a false representation on his Disability Living Allowance (DLA) benefit form.
However, the three-man, nine-woman jury convicted Bulpin of dishonestly failing to disclose information about his condition.
Judge Paul Darlow gave Bulpin a five-week prison sentence, suspended for two years. He was also given 150 hours' community service.
Bulpin, of Laburnum Close in Falmouth, Cornwall, initially applied for DLA in 2006 after suffering a heart attack the previous year.
However, after having the claim rejected, Bulpin sought the advice of Jenny Richards, an experienced welfare benefits advisor from the town's Beacon Resource Centre.
He was subsequently awarded the highest form of mobility benefit, usually reserved for double amputees or those unable to walk.
Bulpin told Truro Crown Court information provided on the form – including the claim that it took him "five to ten minutes to walk 50 to 100 yards" – represented his physical condition on "his worst days". He said Mrs Richards had specifically asked for a worst case scenario in order to secure the benefit.
His form also stated he was unable to play sport. But Bulpin was a regular at Falmouth Golf Club, playing "at least three rounds a week". He also had a paper round, delivering up to six days a week, for a short time. Hidden camera footage captured by the Department for Work and Pensions, played before the court, showed Bulpin walking the 6,000-yard course (5.5 km), squatting to read the line of his putts, and climbing stairs to reach a viewing platform – all exercises his benefit form stated he had difficulty doing. Bulpin, who is deaf in one ear, said he did not mention he played golf on the benefit form because he "did not consider it a sport". Mrs Richards told the court she was unaware Bulpin was a golfer because he had not told her so. She added: "I am not happy filling any form in if I feel they are not telling me the correct things."
Welcoming the sentence, Lord Freud, minister for welfare reform, said: "We have a duty to the taxpayer and our customers to make sure that these vital benefits only go to those who need them."
