A HADDINGTON woman who claimed more than £16,000 in benefits she was not entitled to has been ordered to pay a compensation order to the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).

Helen Nelson was given the large sum of Universal Credit without being entitled to the cash after she became the owner of her home on the town’s Amisfield Place.

Nelson claimed a total of £16,250 of Universal Credit benefits between November 12, 2020, and November 24, 2022.

Edinburgh Sheriff Court was told last week that Nelson had paid a large part of the money back but the amount of £2,013.45 was still outstanding.

Sheriff Peter McCormack issued the 47-year-old with a compensation order for the outstanding amount and allowed her to pay it back in monthly instalments of £30.69.

Nelson pleaded guilty to the offence when she appeared at Edinburgh Sheriff Court on March 27 and was sentenced last Wednesday.