A SINGLE mother of two has avoided a prison sentence after a judge said he was impressed by her efforts to repay almost £25,000 in dishonestly claimed benefits.

Shauna Potts, 38, of Richmond Place, Ilkley, pleaded guilty to five offences of false accounting which related to benefit documents she completed without revealing her job at a travel agents.

Prosecutor Jayne Chaplain told Bradford Crown Court that between March 1997 and June 1999, Potts, who had no previous convictions, dishonestly received a total of £24,513.04 in income support and Council Tax relief to which she was not entitled.

When she was questioned about the offences in February this year Potts explained that a former partner had left her with debts of around £12,000.

Miss Chaplain said Potts believed she would have been in a worse position if she had declared her job, but claimed she had done everything for her children and not for herself.

The court heard that Potts had already paid back the Council Tax benefit and had made an offer to repay the rest of the money by way of a lump sum of £1,000 and regular payments of £35-a-week.

Judge James Spencer QC told Potts that her behaviour had been disgraceful.

"You were repeatedly defrauding the state by fraudulently claiming income support and Council Tax relief," he said.

"The total sum was enormous. Throughout that time you were working and you were telling lies about it. You are a criminal and everybody will know you to be dishonest from now on."

He added: "It seems your sole preoccupation was the welfare of your children - well that's no excuse for committing crime, I'm afraid, because people apart from you have difficult lives and they don't commit crime."

But Judge Spencer said he was impressed by Potts's efforts to repay the money, her guilty pleas and her frankness.

He said Potts needed help rather than punishment in the circumstances and he decided to make her the subject of community rehabilitation order for 18 months.