A HEREFORDSHIRE woman who claimed up to £25,000 from an insurance company after faking a burglary has been given a suspended prison sentence.

Dianne Locke lied that a large quantity of china and jewellery had been stolen from her home.

At the home of her daughter, Sylvia Smith, police found china worth £2,000 which she stole from a mail-order company, Worcester Crown Court heard.

Two months ago, Locke, aged 62, of Cherrybrook Close, Hope under Dinmore, pleaded guilty to attempting to obtain insurance cash by deception. Smith, 39, of Paradise Terrace, Leominster, admitted theft.

Recorder John Ross QC, who had adjourned the case for pre-sentence reports, gave Locke a 12-month jail term, suspended for two years.

He ordered her to pay court costs of £1,200.

Smith was given a 12-month community order and told to carry out 150 hours unpaid community work.

She was ordered to pay the Stoke-on-Trent mail-order company £2,000 compensation.

The recorder said Locke's age and poor health had saved her from immediate custody.

Because she was illiterate, others must have been involved in the bogus insurance claim, he said.

He suspected that much of the information Smith gave to a probation officer was untrue.

Nigel Hall, for Locke, said no money had ever been paid out by the insurance company. The case had left her ashamed and embarrassed.

Neal Williams, for Smith, said her interest in ornaments spanned many years.

Due to depression, she had sought an escape from everyday existence in this way.