A KIDDERMINSTER man has been found guilty of falsely claiming more than £3,500 in disability benefits while working full-time as a care assistant.

Dean Reeves was fined £500 and ordered to pay £350 prosecution costs for failing to notify the Department of Social Security of the change in his circumstances.

The 31-year-old had claimed the Disability Living Allowance after being involved in a serious road accident in 1997, when he suffered severe leg injuries, which resulted in him having three operations and intensive physiotherapy to regain mobility.

The offence concerned an "over-payment" made between April, 2004, and June, 2005, after Reeves started employment at Astley Hall Nursing Home in Stourport.

The Queen Elizabeth Road resident, who still works at the nursing home, told Kidder-minster magistrates on Tuesday he had contacted staff at the Department for Work and Pensions - DWP - to notify it of the change, although neither party had any records of a telephone call.

He added staff at Kiddermin-ster Jobcentre had been informed at the same time, when he withdrew his claim for Income Support.

Magistrates' chairman, Ron Jones, said there was no evidence to suggest a telephone call was made or there had ever been a conversation held with anyone about the issue.

He told Reeves: "There is a strict liability in cases like these and this means the onus for notification is on you and this did not happen."

Arrangements will now be made for him to pay the £3,523 he fraudulently obtained back in full.

Following Tuesday's hearing, a DWP spokesman said: "Benefit cheats take money intended for the most vulnerable in our society.

"Kidderminster residents rightly get angry about such anti-social behaviour and, with their support, we will track down the fraudsters," the spokesman added.