A woman who falsely claimed she could not dress or bathe herself has avoided jail after defrauding the taxpayer of £37,000 in benefits while working at two pubs and travelling abroad. Tina Farnsworth, 57, was sentenced at Sheffield Crown Court to a suspended prison term for benefit fraud after admitting she misrepresented her condition to obtain an enhanced personal independence payment (PIP).
Fraudulent claims and surveillance
Farnsworth insisted she could not perform basic household tasks such as bathing, preparing food, or dressing without assistance. She also claimed she could not meet others, drive, walk more than 50 metres unaided, use public transport, or manage her finances without support. However, a tip-off led investigators to discover she was serving customers at two bars in Barnsley: Pour House 22 and Black Velvet Bar.
Footage captured in 2024 showed Farnsworth routinely performing tasks she had claimed she was unfit to do, including pouring drinks and handling payments. Another video showed her loading boxes into the back of her Range Rover in a car park. Despite telling the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) that she needed her husband for food shopping trips, she was filmed driving her car alone.
Defence and sentencing
Vanessa Saxton, defending Farnsworth, said the former restaurant owner had lived with multiple sclerosis (MS) since the age of 36. Farnsworth argued that her benefit claims were based on her worst days. The court handed her a suspended jail sentence for fraud, along with a loss of benefit penalty that will apply for a minimum of 13 weeks if she claims benefits in the future.
Recovery and official response
The DWP has confirmed it will seek to recover the £37,089 overpaid across five years between 2019 and 2024 using powers under the Proceeds of Crime Act. Andrew Western, the minister for transformation, said: 'The message is clear – don’t think you can steal from hardworking taxpayers. Whatever your reasons for committing benefit fraud, know that our investigators are wise to every trick in the book, and we will find you. And if you know somebody is fleecing the system, report it.'
