A DUNBAR woman has admitted claiming more than £17,000 she was not entitled to over a period of more than three years.

Caroline Chatwin failed to give the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) prompt notification of a change of circumstances and claimed a total of £17,523.28 between August 17, 2019 and February 16 last year.

Court papers state that Chatwin, of the town’s Brodie Road, was in possession of more than the prescribed amount of £16,000 in savings when she was claiming Universal Credit payments to which she was not entitled.

Chatwin, 45, first pleaded guilty to the charge by letter on August 28 and the case was deferred for her personal appearance in the dock.

She appeared at the city centre court last Wednesday, where Sheriff Francis Gill deferred sentence for the preparation of social work reports and a restriction of liberty order assessment to later this month.