A St. Florence man worth £645,000 still could not resist fiddling benefits from the state, a judge heard on Wednesday.

Anthony Peter Quinn, aged 72, claimed £19,688 in pension credits and council tax relief while keeping quiet about his savings and assets, said Lowri Wynn Morgan, prosecuting.

Quinn, of Ivy Tower Farm, had been convicted of two offences of failing to notify the Department for Work and Pensions about the true amount of his assets.

Miss Morgan told Swansea Crown Court that the fiddle went on from 2003 until 2014.

At one stage, Quinn declared his capital as ‘nil.’

But an investigation showed that he had sold part of a property he had owned for £206,000 and that at two particular moments in time he had savings and assets of £119,895 and £83,980.

At present, she added, Quinn had £645,000 worth of property.

The court heard that Quinn had already repaid Pembrokeshire County Council the £6,935 he had received in council tax relief.

Judge Keith Thomas ordered Quinn to repay the £9,622 that was still outstanding in the form of pension credits and a £60 court surcharge.

Quinn was also ordered to pay £965 in prosecution costs for a trial held at Haverfordwest magistrates court, which he lost.

In addition, Quinn was made the subject of a 12-month community order and told to carry out 150 hours of unpaid work for the community.