A NORTH YORKSHIRE council is hoping two recent prosecutions will serve as a deterrent to others tempted to cheat the benefits system.

Two people have been convicted over the last few days for defrauding Richmondshire District Council out of a total of £7,900.

In one case, the defendant was given a two-year conditional discharge and ordered to pay the money back on top of costs.

The other also had to return the cash and was put on probation for a year.

Chairman of housing committee, Coun Sylvia Golding, said: "This is very good news, following all the hard work put into these cases by our anti-fraud team. It shows we will not tolerate benefit fraud and will do everything we can to stamp it out."