MAGISTRATES have discharged allegations against a Kidderminster woman of obtaining more than £17,000 from Wyre Forest District Council by fraud.
Committal of the case to the crown court had been delayed by difficulty in obtaining figures from the Social Security department, Crown Prosecutor Clare Linehan told the court.
Jacqueline Phillips, 43, of Betjeman Court, was charged with obtaining housing benefit and council tax allowances dishonestly over five years when she was working full-time.
Her solicitor, Vanessa Brown, said evidence had not been produced, 13 weeks after Phillips first appeared in court.
Magistrate Ronald Jones said the failure indicated serious inefficiency on the part of the prosecution.
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