12:30pm Monday 20th July 2009
By Matt Smith
SHE escaped a jail term despite stealing thousands from a pre-school, depriving children of school trips and new play equipment.
Serina Weeks didn’t even have to pay back the full £13,235 she stole, some of which was spent on a holiday to Gran Canaria, after an appeal court ruled in her favour.
But just three months later the 36-yearold was back to her old ways – this time pocketing more than £12,000 in fraudulent benefit claims.
Now known as Serina Barker, she wrongly claimed income support, housing and council tax benefits over an 11-month period.
Today she is behind bars after the weeping mother of four went back before the same judge who sentenced her for her initial theft, and he locked her up for 34 weeks.
Barker, of Langrish Road, Southampton, was told she had blown her second chance as Judge John Boggis QC branded her a benefit cheat and sent her down.
Barker had pleaded guilty to three counts of failing to tell authorities about a change of circumstances.
Southampton Crown Court heard that when she signed on for the benefits in 2004 she told the Department for Work and Pensions that she was a single mother- of-three.
But three years later she failed to notify the department that she had married Keith Barker, with whom she has a tenmonth- old baby. He left her last December.
Barker’s defence barrister Roderick Blain said her offence was “unsophisticated”
and she made no attempt to hide the fact she was living with Mr Barker.
He said she was saddled with debts of £30,000 when she split with a former partner and had not seen the benefit of any money earned by Mr Barker who, he said, lived like a bachelor.
Mr Blain said Barker did not spend her benefit money on an “extravagant lifestyle” but on keeping her children afloat.
He said she had already begun to repay her fraudulent claims at £100 a month.
Judge Boggis told Barker her position had been made “more serious”
as the offending started shortly after admitting the Oaktrees Preschool thefts.
“At that stage I gave you a chance because I was concerned for your family,” he said.
“But you haven’t taken that chance.” Judge Boggis told her she had left court last time with a warning ringing in her ears that she faced prison if she offended again.
“If you won’t learn you must face the consequences,” he said.
Passing a sentence of 18 weeks for the benefit fraud and 16 weeks for breach of her earlier suspended sentence he said: “There is no proper alternative for someone who continues to offend in this dishonest way.”
A Department for Work and Pensions spokeswoman said: “No one should think they can get away with benefit theft. As Serina Barker found out, people who commit benefit fraud face fines, imprisonment and other penalties.”
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