A BENEFITS cheat has been given a final warning over the prospect of jail after she returned to court for the second time for failing to turn up for unpaid work in the community.

Tanya Candice Garbutt was originally sentenced to a nine-month prison sentence, suspended for two years, with a requirement to carry out 180 hours of unpaid work in the community after she admitted two charges of failing to declare a change in her circumstances when claiming benefits in June last year.

A requirement to attend ten days of an education, training and employment programme was added to the sentence in November after she failed to turn up for appointments to carry out unpaid work.

Garbutt, 28, of Courtlands Road, Portland, returned to Dorchester Crown Court after she missed three further appointments for unpaid work.

She told the court she had not received letters relating to the appointments and had emailed her solicitor and left an answer phone message with the Probation Service but had received no response.

Judge Roger Jarvis accepted that she had emailed her solicitor and there was ‘some doubt’ over whether the letters had been received.

However he said he did not believe she had phoned the Probation Service as there was no record of the call and Garbutt accepted she could have made further efforts to contact the Probation Service.

Judge Jarvis revoked the original order and resentenced Garbutt to a 24-week prison sentence, suspended for two years, with 180 hours of unpaid work and a six-month curfew requirement.

He said: “Your intention to what was required of you from this order has been lamentable.

“I have decided just to give you one last chance, this is your last chance.