A HOUSING benefits officer who plundered £55,000 from Swindon Council is facing the prospect of a jail term.

Steven Shaw, 36, abused his position over three years to issue thousands of pounds in illicit overpayments to people who had been receiving housing benefits.

Now he has been warned he is at risk of a jail term after he pleaded guilty to a charge of fraud when he appeared at Swindon Crown Court.

Shaw, of Lineacre Close, Grange Park, worked as a housing benefit and overpayments officer at Swindon Borough Council.

But he admitted abusing his position to create and process false overpayment claims for recipients of housing benefit and insisting he got nothing for himself.

Hannah Squire, prosecuting, said that the loss from his offending between October 26, 2011, and Monday, November 17, last year, to the council was £55,000.

The court heard that five other people had also admitted dishonestly receiving the money he gave them.

Melanie Barrow, 26, of Lumley Close, Grange Park, pleaded guilty to retaining a wrongful credit.

She admitted that between February 15, 2012, and July 14, last year, she received £7,243.26p she was not entitled to and did not take adequate steps to repay it.

Judge Tim Mousley QC adjourned the cases for three weeks to give the probation service time to compile presentence reports.

He said: "I will put it over for sentence on Thursday June 18. There will be a pre-sentence report with all options to be considered.

"Steven Shaw and Melanie Barrow, you two have pleaded guilty to these matters and will come back to be sentences on June 18.

"The reason for the delay is I was pre-sentence reports on each of you, both of you.

"The reports should consider every available sentence and that includes an immediate custodial sentence. I grant you bail to the date of sentencing."

Miss Squire said four other people had pleaded guilty to retaining wrongful credits when they appeared in the magistrates' court.

She said they had been sentenced by the justices and all received one year community orders.

A seventh defendant, 54-year-old Ian Baxter, of Chalgrove Field, Freshbrook, pleaded not guilty to a similar charge at the crown court hearing.

It is alleged he failed to take adequate steps to return £4,969.81p which he is said to have received between December 2012 and August last year.

He was released on unconditional bail for a trial before a jury on a date which has yet to be fixed.