A former mayor of Royal Tetbury has admitted cheating the public out of £27,000 by falsely claiming state benefits.

Ann Pearce, 57, who was mayor of King Charles' former home town in 2020, pleaded guilty at Gloucester Crown Court last Friday (April 26) to dishonestly failing to notify the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) of a change of personal circumstances, which affected her entitlement to benefits between May 6 2020 and November 9 2022.

Pearce had denied the allegation at earlier court hearings, but she changed her plea to guilty last week.

The prosecution alleged at the earlier hearings that, after suffering an injury at work, Pearce appeared at official functions in a wheelchair and carrying an oxygen bottle - but she did not use them when she was out and about privately.

The prosecution also claimed she was using her benefit money to help 'fund a luxury lifestyle', which included holidays and regular eating out.

Pearce, of Upton Gardens, walked into the Gloucester Crown Court dock last Friday with the aid of a stick, when she attended the pre-trial hearing and changed her previous plea of not guilty to one of guilty.

The DWP has made it clear it does not allege that Pearce was dishonest in her benefit claims from the outset, but their case is that she went on to claim a total of £27,314.22 in PIP (Personal Independence Payments), to which she was not entitled because her health had improved.

By her guilty plea, she has now accepted the DWP case that her physical capabilities improved during the course of her receiving benefits and reached a point where she was no longer entitled to PIP.

Judge Rupert Lowe said he would require a pre-sentence report before passing sentence. He told Pearce she would next appear in court on May 24 to be sentenced. He told her to attend an appointment with a probation officer for a pre-sentence report to be prepared.

"You need to be completely frank and honest with the probation officer," the judge told her. "I say that because there's been a lack of frankness and honesty so far.

"I'm not giving you any indication of your sentence, but your guilty plea will be taken into account."

Pearce was released on unconditional bail until the sentencing hearing.

At an earlier hearing at Cheltenham Magistrates Court, when Pearce pleaded not guilty and was committed for jury trial, her lawyer Ted Jackson, said she did not accept she had been dishonest and the issue for the jury would be the extent of her disability.

The court was told at that hearing that she had first claimed benefits as a result of an injury suffered while working in the health and social care sector.

Prosecutor Cathy Thornton said at that hearing: "The DWP was informed that, when Ms Pearce went for assessments or anything else official, she would go in a wheelchair, carrying a bottle of oxygen, but when she was out on other scenarios, she didn't use the wheelchair and was not carrying the oxygen tank.

"This alleged fraudulent activity is said to have taken place between May 2020 and November 2022.

"The informant suggests that Ms Pearce was using her benefits to fund a luxury lifestyle and was socialising nightly by eating in local pubs, shopping locally and going on holiday. A lot of this occurred whilst she was mayor of Tetbury."