A 54-year-old Oxford woman has admitted pocketing almost £50,000 in illegal benefits.

Melanie Horwood, of Bampton Close, Littlemore, appeared at Oxford Magistrates' Court yesterday charged with three counts of benefit fraud.

She spoke only to admit a charge of providing false details which allowed her to collect jobseekers, housing and council tax benefit, which she was not entitled to.

The court heard Horwood claimed about £48,000 between October 2001 and August last year.

She will be sentenced at Oxford Crown Court in the new year.

Carol Quainton, investigations manager at Oxford City Council, said: "People who cheat the system are stealing from taxpayers and are restricting the amount of funds available to those who are in genuine need.

"We hope that the public are becoming more aware that we will take action and that if we are given false information or not told when their circumstances change, that they could be prosecuted.

"It means not only that they have to pay the money back but they would have a criminal record."

The council has also secured a county court judgement to make Horwood return the housing benefit overpayment and council tax arrears.

Horwood was granted bail until she appears for sentence on Monday, January 7.