Anne Bird, 60, raked in 21,000 by claiming she was entitled to the highest category of benefits after being diagnosed with osteoarthritis

A benefits cheat who claimed she was so frail she needed help getting dressed was caught taking part in fitness classes.

Anne Bird, 60, raked in 21,000 by claiming she was entitled to the highest category of benefits after being diagnosed with osteoarthritis.

She told officials from the Department for Work and Pensions that she struggled to get out of bed and could not dress herself.

But following a tip-off undercover investigators filmed her making regular trips to fitness classes at her local leisure centre.

Former Royal Mail postwoman Bird, from Bloxwich, West Mids, was secretly recorded taking part in pilates, spinning and aerobics classes.

Footage showed her performing dozens of sit-ups while balancing on a fitness ball and also doing repeated arm and leg stretches.

Despite being entitled to some benefits, between October 2008 and August 2012 she was overpaid 21,109 in state hand-outs.

Bird admitted making a false declaration on claim forms to obtain disability allowance when she appeared before magistrates in Walsall on Wednesday.

The court heard Bird was laid off in 2008 due to a degenerative condition - confirmed by a doctor to be osteoarthritis.

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Benefits cheat caught doing spinning and aerobics classes

In one clip Bird, who claimed she could barely walk, was filmed doing rigorous sit-ups while balancing on a fitness ball while in another she did repeated arm and leg stretches.

She admitted making a false declaration on claim forms to obtain disability allowance when she appeared at Walsall Magistrates' Court.

JPs heard Bird, a former postwoman with Royal Mail, was laid off in 2008 due to a degenerative condition.

Prosecutor Maggie Meakin told the court she was overpaid 21,109 after making false declaration on claim forms to obtain disability allowance.

She said: "It was confirmed by a doctor that she has osteoarthritis and that she needs help to bathe and dress, and needed help to walk.

"She then applied for the higher rate of disability living allowance claiming at this point that she needed help as she had problems with her knees and hips.

"The department was made aware that from October 2006 to August 2012 she was attending Bloxwich Leisure Centre and was participating in group exercise including pilates and circuit training.

"She then upgraded her membership to sessions which included aerobics.

"In witness statements the staff said they were aware she had problems with her knee, but she took part in spinning bike classes."

Bird, of Pleck, near Walsall, West Mids., suffers from osteoarthritis in her legs and rheumatoid arthritis in her hands.

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Benefit cheat so disabled she 'could not dress or bathe herself' caught on camera at fitness class

BANGKOK: Thai stocks posted modest losses on Friday as some large caps, including PTT and Krung Thai Bank regained early lost ground, while Indonesian shares ended at their highest in one week, helped by inflows and a rise in the rupiah. The Thai SET index eased 0.22 percent, with a 2.5 percent gain on the week, its first in three. It fell 1.4 percent at one point, as investors remained wary of domestic political tensions ahead of a major anti-government protest on Monday. Foreign investors were net sellers of 1.1 billion baht ($33.3 million), trimming their net buying on the week to $73 million, Thomson Reuters data showed. Jakarta's Composite Index climbed 1.3 percent to 4,254.97, the highest close since Jan. 3, erasing its weekly loss to 0.06 percent. Banking shares were actively traded, with shares of Bank Mandiri up almost 6 percent. Jakarta brought in net inflows of $7.92 million on the day, while the rupiah edged up 0.25 percent on Friday. Others in the region ended mixed ahead of Friday's U.S. nonfarm payrolls report. Payrolls are forecast to have risen by a solid 196,000 in December, according to a Reuters survey of economists, just below November's count of 203,000. Singapore was down 0.05 percent on the day, while rising 0.4 percent on the week. Malaysia eased 0.09 percent on the day and was down 0.4 percent on the week. The Philippines dropped 1.6 percent on the day, taking its weekly loss to 1.8 percent. Vietnam's benchmark VN Index gained 0.38 percent, and was the region's outperformer with a weekly gain of 2.7 percent. SOUTHEAST ASIAN STOCK MARKETS Change on day Market Current Prev Close Pct Move TR SE Asia Index* 381.45 381.27 +0.05 Singapore 3143.87 3145.41 -0.05 Kuala Lumpur 1826.61 1828.21 -0.09 Bangkok 1255.45 1258.26 -0.22 Jakarta 4254.97 4201.22 +1.28 Manila 5842.88 5937.51 -1.59 Ho Chi Minh 518.94 516.98 +0.38 Change on year Market Current End 2013 Pct Move TR SE Asia Index* 381.45 388.37 -1.78 Singapore 3143.87 3167.43 -0.74 Kuala Lumpur 1826.61 1866.96 -2.16 Bangkok 1255.45 1298.71 -3.33 Jakarta 4254.97 4274.18 -0.45 Manila 5842.88 5889.83 -0.80 Ho Chi Minh 518.94 504.63 +2.84 * The Thomson Reuters South East Asia Index is a highly representative indicator of stocks listed in Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. Stock Market Volume (shares) Market Current Volume Average Volume 30 days Singapore 185,160,800 179,644,990 Kuala Lumpur 114,671,400 102,383,417 Bangkok 4,277,621 5,091,586 Jakarta 2,963,737,800 2,861,703,257 Manila 38,649 67,630

Ho Chi Minh 107,180 85,701 - Reuters

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