A BENEFITS cheat who posed as his partner's landlord to dupe the Government out of thousands in benefits had his sentence halved by top judges.

Michael Awolo, 35, was jailed for 12 months at Snaresbrook Crown Court in July after he was convicted of two forgery counts and two of making a false representation to obtain benefit.

Awolo, of Frobisher Gardens, Grays, signed letters and forms on behalf of Uche Nwadei in which he claimed to be her landlord, allowing her to falsely claim Housing and Council Tax benefit.

In fact, he and Ms Nwadei were "man and wife", London's Appeal Court heard, with Ms Nwadei owning the property where they then lived in Patrick Road, Plaistow.

Sir Michael Wright - sitting with Lord Justice Laws and Mr Justice Gibbs in London's Appeal Court - said Awolo's partner had disappeared before she could stand trial.

The total benefit falsely claimed was around £10,000, said the judge.

However, ruling that the 12-month sentence was simply "too long", the Appeal Court substituted a six-month term.