A BENEFIT cheat who pocketed more than £11,500 that he was not entitled to from the public purse said he couldn't be bothered to sign off and on between jobs.

City magistrates heard that Simon Paul Davies, 47, of Bridle Mews, Mumbles, undertook work with eight different employers while claiming benefits — without officially declaring any of the jobs with the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).

He pleaded guilty to eight counts of dishonestly making a false representation.

John Allchurch, prosecuting on behalf of the DWP, said: "Mr Davies was claiming benefit to which he was not entitled because he was working. There was an allegation received by the department in June 2008."

The court heard that the claims were initially legitimate but that the offences spanned from 2004 to 2008.

Davies, who at different times claimed benefits including Job Seekers Allowance, Incapacity Benefit and housing and council tax benefits, received an overpayment of £11,822.97.

Mr Allchurch said Davies admitted the offences when interviewed.

"He said he'd not declared the work as he could not be bothered to sign off and on between jobs," said Mr Allchurch.

Stuart John, defending, said his client had recently conquered a drug addiction and was now drug free.

"Mr Davies would over the time in question become involved in a number of different companies for short periods of time," he said. "He accepts that he failed to disclose all the information to the department."

Mr John said that Davies was concerned with all of the jobs that they lacked stability due to their short-term nature.

"He's one of those individuals that when he's been well enough to actively seek employment he has," he said."He does not want to claim benefits.

"There was no long-term stability, it's not as if he had secure employment over a long period."

Magistrates heard Davies was currently subject to a suspended prison sentence order for an unrelated offence that post-dated the benefit issues.

Yesterday, he was sentenced to a 12-week curfew order to reside at his address between 6pm and 6am. In addition he was given a three- month prison sentence suspended for 12 months with supervision.