POLICE have been given a court order to arrest an alleged benefit cheat who failed to appear at court this week.

The 62-year-old was scheduled to face charges of fraudulently claiming over £16,000 in public money at Alloa Sheriff Court on Monday (26 January).

But after failing to appear, Sheriff David Mackie granted an application from the Crown Office to have the Sauchie man picked up and brought to court by police.

It is alleged he failed to notify the Department of Work and Pensions of a change in circumstances that he knew would affect his entitlement to housing and council tax benefits.

The offence is said to have taken place between 4 February 2006 and 31 March 2013, with the accused allegedly claiming a total of £16,031.24 in unentitled income.

Another Sauchie man has pleaded not guilty to having claimed just over £7700 in unentitled benefits over an 18-month period.

The 48-year-old appeared at Alloa Sheriff Court on Monday (26 January) faced with a charge of failing to notify the Department of Work and Pensions of a change in circumstances which he knew affected his entitlement to income support, housing benefits and council tax benefits.

It is alleged that he claimed in excess of the upper limit of £16,000 a year and thus obtained £7704.98 of income he was not entitled to.

The alleged offence is reported to have taken place between 19 December 2012 and 25 June 2014.

He denied the charge and is to face trial on 24 June.