A WOMAN who was involved in a conspiracy to defraud the DSS of £26,000 has been jailed for a year.

Her husband and relatives in the public gallery gasped and began to sob when Joanne Johnston was sent down for her part in the massive benefit book fraud.

The fraud centred around people cashing 104 separate benefit books which had been stopped by the DSS or reported lost or stolen.

The total amount of the fraud, which took place at Breightmet Post Office over a year, cost the DSS £114,000.

Vouchers covering £56,000 had been cashed at Breightmet Post Office but the rest of the vouchers had never been found.

Following a trial in June Breightmet Post Officer cashier Sandra Alldred, of Dovedale Road, Brightmet, was cleared of being part of the conspiracy.

Graham Booth, aged 33, of Long Lane, Breightmet, was convicted of conspiracy to defraud the DSS by the jury in the same trial on fingerprint evidence found on cashed vouchers.

His partner Johnston, aged 33, of Long Lane, Breightmet, had admitted her role in the conspiracy to defraud the DSS. She admitted to cashing benefit book vouchers to a total value of £26,572.

Victoria Byrne, aged 31, of Snow Hill Road, Bolton, had admitted two charges of obtaining a total of £234 by deception on August 25 1999.

Yesterday all three appeared at Bolton Crown Court for sentence following the preparation of pre-sentence reports.

Judge Reginald Lockett jailed Johnston for one year and ordered her partner Booth to complete a 100 hours Community Punishment Order.

Judge Lockett conditionally discharged Byrne for two years and made a compensation order of £235.23 to the DSS to be paid at £5 per week.

The judge also praised DSS investigator Patrick Burns for his hard work on the case and asked that his comments be passed to his superior.

The massive fraud came to light when DSS investigators became suspicious of the number of benefit books supposedly missing or lost in transit which were then being cashed at Breightmet Post Office.