A man with £188,000 in the bank illegally claimed more than £4,000 in benefits, a court heard.

Mark Powell, of Winterbourne Road, Abingdon, admitted benefit fraud when he appeared before Didcot magistrates.

They heard that Powell, 47, failed to declare he had money in his bank accounts when he applied for council tax and housing benefit from the Vale of White Horse District Council and did not notify officials when he received a lump sum of £188,231.

As a result, he was overpaid by £517 in council tax benefit and £3,544 in housing benefit. He has since repaid the money.

Powell will be sentenced on Thursday, June 12.

Jerry Patterson, the district council's member for finance, said: "Benefits are there to help people who are genuinely in need, not people who are well able to support themselves.

"The money that this man illegally claimed should have been used to help people who were really in need of assistance. People should also be aware that we make stringent checks on every single benefit application.

"This case of benefit fraud was detected when staff noticed Powell's declared income was far lower than his outgoings and then obtained his bank statements to investigate further.

"This should serve as a warning that benefit fraud is not worth the risk and that you are more than likely to get caught."