Fraudster Stephen Ramsden thought he was in the clear after ripping off nearly £40,000 in benefits for more than five years.

The 42-year-old scrap metal boss, from Eastry, said he had not been able to work since a motorcycle crash in 2007.

But a judge has heard how he had been running his own business - called All Clear Services – that netted him more than £100,000 in payments.

Now Ramsden, of Sandwich Road, has been jailed for six months after admitting illegally claiming income support, housing, council tax and employment support benefits.

Prosecutor James Ross said the former machine driver – who had worked and lived in France until his road accident – started his benefit claims in the UK in February 2007.

But Canterbury Crown Court heard how within seven months he had helped set up All Clear Services, which he ran from home.

Mr Ross said while he successfully applied to overturn a decision not to grant him Employment and Support Allowance, Ramsden had also applied for a licence to collect and dispose of scrap metal.

The prosecutor said the company had also been able to buy an expensive lorry – which Ramsden later said had been bought using money from an insurance payout for the motorcycle injuries.

His lawyer, Kerry Waite, said: "Although the £100,000 which passed through his bank accounts seems a lot, it was over five years.

"What he did in continuing to claim benefits didn't lead to untold riches and he wasn' living the high life at the taxpayers' expense."

Mr Waite said Ramsden was now repaying the £38,555 from his benefits.

But Judge Adele Williams told him: "Although I accept that this was not fraudulent from the start but there came a point when you began your involvement with All Clear Services.

"This was a significant sum you received over a significant period."