A woman sobbed and shook as she was jailed for three months for illegally claiming £8,000 in benefits.

Sally Brivent-Barnes, 38, of Church Road, Frating, admitted four counts of false accounting, with 73 further offences taken into account at Colchester Magistrates' Court on Thursday.

Saqib Rauf, prosecuting for the Department of Social Services, told the court Brivent-Barnes had been claiming benefits while working.

He said she held two separate jobs as a sales rep and organising in-store promotions, yet failed to notify the DSS of the jobs.

She continued to sign declarations confirming her unemployed status had not changed.

Brivent-Barnes cried and shook as she listened to the evidence given to the court, and as she heard she had been ordered to serve a three-month prison sentence.

Lyall Thompson, mitigating, launched an immediate appeal against the sentence.

He said his client was "utterly terrified" at the prospect of a prison sentence and added on the way to the cells she had fainted.

She was remanded in custody until the appeal date, which has yet to be set.

Mr Thompson told the court Brivent-Barnes's benefit claim had been legitimate to start with.

The court heard she had been suffering from serious health problems and had been harassed by two former boyfriends around the time the offences had taken place.

Mr Thompson said during the period of her first job, between October and December 1995, she had stopped claiming benefit, but failed to notify the authorities.

However, when the job finished and she went to sign on again she was told she could claim a lump sum for the weeks she had not received benefit.

Mr Thompson added his client was concerned she had done wrong but took the money and used it to pay for medical treatment.

He added she had been making voluntary payments to reimburse the social services for the money and wanted to pay it back as quickly as possible.

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