Prolific penman Clive Wilkins-Oppler railed against Britain's youths, immigration, prisons and the local authority in hundreds of letters to his local paper.

But the 42-year-old former Kentish Gazette columnist – once dubbed "Mr Angry of Canterbury" – kept silent on one group of people... those who rip off taxpayers.

And a judge discovered one of the reasons might have been that Wilkins-Oppler was a benefits scrounger himself as he spared him jail today.

Canterbury Crown Court heard how he had been claiming income support and housing and council tax benefits since 1992.

In 2006, Wilkins-Oppler, of Garlinge Green, Petham, received a £51,000 inheritance – which meant he was no longer entitled to the £10,000-a-year handouts.

But instead of telling the authorities of his windfall, the man who wrote so many complaint letters kept quiet - and continued to rake in the benefits.

James Thacker, prosecuting, dubbed Wilkins-Oppler "Mr Scrounger", telling the judge: "This was a man scrounging off benefits while sitting on a nest egg."

Now Wilkins-Oppler said he isn't planning to write any more letters - "for the moment".

Wilkins-Oppler pleaded guilty to two charges of fraudulently claiming income support, housing and council tax benefits between 2006 and 2011 and was given a nine-month jail sentence, suspended for two years.

Mr Thacker said he had kept secret the fact he had capital, which exceeded the amount claimants can have without informing the Department for Work and Pensions and Canterbury City Council.

He said council officials invited him for an interview and even before arriving for the showdown, he wrote a letter to apologise for not informing them of his savings.

"He had 11 bank accounts, but said he hadn't informed them as he was mentally unwell at the time," said Mr Thacker.

"But the investigators discovered he was a regular columnist at the time of the Kentish Gazette and had been dubbed as 'Mr Angry' locally."

He had written a number of articles criticising the local authorities, youths in the area, mass immigration and turning prisons into "comfy home from homes".

Wilkins-Opple was not paid for his column by the KM Group.

Clive Wilkins-Oppler was sentenced at Canterbury Crown Court

Mr Thacker said: "His articles were saying that people were lacking morals and he was passing judgement on others, such as the local authorities, the youths of today for not having jobs – and people who live in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones.

"He is a man who is talking about behaviour and the morality of others while he is scrounging while sitting on a nest egg of a significant amount of money."

The court heard he had received £32,309 in income support, £15,111 in housing benefits and £4,205 in council tax to which he was not entitled.

Philip Rowley, defending, said Wilkins-Oppler has since repaid more than £48,000 of the £51,000 to which he was not entitled.

He claimed his letter-writing was a symptom of his obsessive compulsive disorder and he has now been diagnosed with Asperger syndrome.

He said a psychiatrist said any prison sentence would open him to "bullying and abuse" and “Wilkins-Oppler "would not be able to cope with a custodial environment".

Wilkins-Oppler wrote numerous letters to the Gazette before beng given his own column, which earned him cult following and even sparked the creation of a Clive Wilkins-Oppler Appreciation Society on Facebook – dubbing him "Mr Angry of Canterbury".

In 2005, he stood in the county council elections as an independent candidate in Canterbury city's north east ward and two years later tried to get elected in the Northgate ward – but managed last place on both occasions.

After the hearing, Wilkins-Oppler said: "I am just relieved this is all over. It has been a nightmare for me."