A ‘housebound’ benefits cheat has been jailed after she was caught on camera taking part in combat classes at the gym while receiving £25,000 from the taxpayer.
Former nurse Helen Green, 49, from Shrewsbury, Shropshire, was described as ‘breathtakingly dishonest’ as she was today sentenced to seven months in prison.
She fraudulently accepted £25,244 in government handouts between January 2020 and March 2023 – all while taking part in exercise classes, lifting heavy bags and running three 10k races.
It was heard that Green, a wife and mother to a young daughter, did suffer from rheumatoid arthritis as well as deep vein thrombosis to her ankles, varicose veins and knee problems.
In various descriptions of her condition to the DWP, she claimed she was not able to walk more than 50m at a time, needed help with the most basic of chores, and could not carry shopping bags.
But Shrewsbury Crown Court was shown videos of Green taking part in a body combat class at her local gym – where she also employed a personal trainer and attended classes including body pump, Zumba and spin.
The court also saw a video from September 2022 where she was seen exiting her local Aldi wearing gym gear and carrying two heavy shopping bags and a rucksack that she effortlessly put into her car.
But Judge Trevor Meegan said the most egregious example of her dishonesty was running three 10,000-metre races in 2020 and 2021 – and that her jail sentence would serve as a ‘deterrent’ to others.
Prosecutor Harry Dickens said Green, a member of the Shropshire Shufflers Running Club, had clocked a time of one hour and three minutes for the Market Drayton 10k.
The court was shown video footage of Green working out at the gym while claiming to be housebound
Helen Green, 49, ran three 10k races while in receipt of PiP benefits finishing one in just one hour and three minutes
In her defence, Green claimed she had walked the race but Judge Meegan called that claim ‘implausible in the extreme’.
‘To do it in just an hour shows significant effort,’ he said. ‘To run it in that time is indicative of a high level of physical fitness.’
Defence barrister Kevin Jones said Green had been told by medics to ‘keep active’.
Outlining the case against her, Mr Dickens said that she had initially submitted a claim for PiP, Personal Independence Payment, in July 2016.
She was awarded the standard amount but appealed it two months later and was upgraded to ‘enhanced care’, the highest level of support, which included a Motability car.
Mr Dickens told the court Green had reported being in ‘constant pain every day’ and not able to complete normal activities including getting dressed and doing household chores.
She said she ‘could not carry bags’ and needed staff at her local supermarket to put her shopping into smaller bags so she could lift them into her car.
Green added that her condition was lifelong and was expected to only get worse over time.
In June 2021 Green updated the DWP about her condition saying life had ‘become harder’, that she could only walk between 20 and 50 metres and only with the aid of a crutch or another person.
Mr Dickens said: ‘This was remarkable given the activities she was doing in Shropshire at the time.
‘She was captured on video at her gym in September and October 2022 taking part in a range of vigorous exercise classes including Zumba, Body Pump, Body Combat and Spin.’
In addition, the court heard that in February and March of 2020 and October of 2021 she had completed three 10k races, each time finishing in just over an hour.
In 2022 the DWP began investigating her circumstances after a tip-off prompted by her running activities and stopped her PiP pay-outs in March 2023.
Former nurse Helen Green, 49, from Shrewsbury, Shropshire, was described as ‘breathtakingly dishonest’ as she was today jailed for seven months
Shrewsbury Crown Court was shown videos of Green taking part in a body combat class at her local gym – where she also employed a personal trainer and attended classes including body pump, Zumba and spin
When called in for an interview, she attended on crutches and only admitted that she had been told to do ‘strength training’.
‘She was fundamentally dishonest,’ said Mr Dickens, ‘and played fast and loose with what she told people about her health conditions.’
Green, who initially denied wrongdoing, pleaded guilty in September 2025 to a charge of failing to notify a change in circumstances to obtain a benefit.
The court accepted that she was entitled to help from 2016 but it turned into fraud in 2020.
The prosecutor said she had given very different health assessments to the Shropshire Sports Village, of which she was a member, as opposed to the DWP.
The court heard that she told her personal trainer Mike Booth she suffered from rheumatoid arthritis and he said that she did sometimes cancel sessions due to ailments.
In her defence, Mr Jones said her conduct had ‘not funded a lavish lifestyle’, and that ‘she does have the ailments that she claims, it is just the extent of them that’s at issue. She has good days and bad days.’
Green, from Shrewsbury, he said, was ‘deeply remorseful’ and had begun repaying the money she owed.
‘She had been a nurse for many years,’ he said, adding she ‘found it difficult losing her job and going onto a medical pension’.
‘She is a woman of previous good character and is acutely aware of the cost to the public purse.’
Sentencing, Judge Meegan said: ‘PiP is a benefit paid to four million people in the country. You took £25,244 from it to which you were not entitled.
‘By any assessment you dishonesty was breathtaking and it is a crime against the tax payer.
‘Your claim began legitimately but you were under an obligation to disclose any changes yet you failed to do so.
‘You presented a picture of continuing, ongoing disability and took advantage of the laxer regime during the Covid years.
‘You attended the gym regularly over a number of years and participated in demanding fitness classes.
‘You also ran with the Shropshire Shufflers running club and took part in three 10k races between 2020 and 2021. To run 10k in the time you did is indicative of physical fitness.’
He concluded by dismissing calls from her defence counsel for a suspended sentence.
He said: ‘This was carried out over a prolonged period and offences of this nature demand a deterrent sentence.’
Green, wearing a polka dot dress, was instructed to stand and appeared tearful as she was told she would serve seven months in prison.
Outside court her husband was consoled by another family member.
Minister for Transformation Andrew Western said: ‘This is a slap in the face to taxpayers and the genuine claimants who depend on PIP to live their lives.
‘Helen Green wasn’t just burning calories at the gym, she was also peddling lies and our investigators caught up with her.
‘Let this be a warning – you can’t outrun the DWP.’
Mandy Tobias, of the Crown Prosecution Service, said: ‘Helen Green pretended she had limited movement, but instead was a regular runner and active in gym classes. She did this for her own greed and lined her pockets with fraudulently obtained money.
‘The Crown Prosecution Service presented strong evidence thanks to the investigation work of the DWP showing Green’s deception, resulting in her guilty plea.’
