A MAN who went jogging three times a week despite claiming to need a wheelchair is facing prison after he and his wife were found guilty of falsely claiming more than £80,000 of benefits.

A jury at Teesside Crown Court found John Moses guilty of eight counts of false accounting totally £58,500 of false claims, one of aiding and abetting his wife to make false claims and one of witness intimidation.

His wife, Victoria, was found guilty of eight counts of false accounting, totalling about £25,000 of fraudulent claims between 1993 and 1997.

The court was told that during the period of time they were making the claims, £285,000 passed through their joint bank account.

Judge Peter Armstrong yesterday warned the pair that "all sentencing options" were open to the court, including custody.

They will be sentenced in four weeks at Newcastle Crown Court. Both were released on bail.

During the 19-day trial, the court heard John Moses, 50, had boasted that he went jogging three times a week despite claiming to be a wheelchair-bound invalid.

Moses arrived each day for court in his wheelchair and wearing a neck brace to hear Richard Grey, prosecuting, accuse him and wife Victoria, 44, of being "complete frauds".

The court heard the five-year scam came to an end after he reported his Daimler limousine had been stolen at the seaside resort of Seaton Carew, near Hartlepool, said Mr Gray.

He told a jury: "Mr Moses' downfall was informing his insurance company he parked it to go for a run on the beach.

"He said he went jogging three times a week and bragged to an investigator that he was quite an athlete."

Mr Gray said that Moses complained to the DSS that he suffered from osteo-arthritis in his back, cervical spondylosis, sciatica, vertigo, blackouts and was going blind.

At the same time, he was running a plastics recycling business and had four classic cars for hire.

His wife, a mother-of-five, also claimed severe disability allowance for angina, breathlessness, arthritis and inability to walk more than 30 yards.

Mr Gray told the court: "A consultant physician diagnosed that her medical problem was that she was four stones overweight, and he observed that she had a nice suntan from the Algarve.

"Together they milked the DSS by claiming increasing medical ailments, which were a complete and utter sham."

The couple, from Mazine Terrace, Haswell, County Durham, also drew false income support and housing benefits after stating they were separated, while living together.