Benefits 'Vulture' family from Essex

A father and his daughter raked in more than £250,000 in benefits by claiming for non-existent handicapped kids, a court was told.

Keith Taylor, 56, gave photographers the V-sign as he turned up for a hearing with his 33-yearold daughter Donna Connolly. The pair are also alleged to have hijacked the identities of other people, some dead, to make false claims at taxpayers' expense.

Prosecutor Sir Derek Spencer QC alleged they had carried out "wholesale abuse" of the benefits system along with three other defendants who plundered more than £71,000 between them. He said the defendants "invented" disabled children and "hijacked" the IDs of people to make claims.

He added: "This is not a case about errors and mistakes or miscalculation of benefit. It is about wholesale dishonesty resulting in taxpayers' money being paid out in large sums." Connolly was said to be the leader of the alleged scam.

Police raided her home in Southend, Essex, in December 2004 and seized paperwork, Basildon Crown Court heard. She was arrested along with her father and Julie Turner, 43, Beverley Thaws, 46, and Patricia Brown, 67.

Brown, who is said to drive a car with a personalised number plate, is alleged to have creamed off more than £40,000.

Thaws is said to have pocketed £15,374 and Turner £16,020.

The alleged plot is said to involve Child Tax and Working Tax credits - supposed to help Britain's poorest families and workers on low incomes.

Sir Derek said the alleged fake claims had similarities which led back to Connolly. He said: "The fact they all allegedly claimed to be working 16 hours a week is one of many common threads that feature in these claims. It cannot be a coincidence. This suggests there was someone behind all these claims. That person was Donna Connolly."

Connolly denies 13 charges of benefit fraud and two of money laundering. Taylor, Thaws and Turner all deny charges of benefit fraud and money laundering. Brown denies benefit fraud.

All live in Southend except Turner who comes from nearby Westcliff. The trial is set to end at Christmas.

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Katie chooses TV show over seeing her kids!

Katie Price's reunion with her children will have to wait another day after the model was unable to find a first class flight home from Australia.

But in the meanwhile, she doesn't plan to sit around twiddling her thumbs.

Price plans to film a showdown with ex-boyfriend Alex Reid for her own ITV2 reality show, who she dumped immediately upon leaving the Australian bush.

The glamour model initially thought it would be another two weeks before she saw her children because her ITV contract required she stay in Down Under until I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! ended.

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Katie tells Alex "it's over" live on TV!

It's perhaps not the most tactful way to end a relationship, but Katie Price ensured maximum exposure when she dumped boyfriend Alex Reid live on air last night.

The cagefighter had just landed in Australia after flying thousands of miles to see his girlfriend of four months, who was competing on I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here!

He planned to propose. Instead Katie summoned him to her hotel room and told him she was fed up with him 'making money from her' and then went on live TV to tell the nation.

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Italian Stallion ready to settle down!

Vincent Simone: I'm ready to waltz down the aisle...

After Flavia, Susan, pregnant Susan, Kristina, becoming a dad and Susan again, Strictly's Italian stallion says he's ready to settle down!

Strictly heart-throb Vincent Simone has vowed to marry the girl he cheated on with fellow dancer Kristina Rihanoff.

Vincent had an affair with blonde bombshell Kristina earlier this year when Susan Duddy was five months pregnant with their baby son.

But, speaking exclusively to The People, Vincent, 31, said he regretted his actions and now would love to waltz down the aisle with pretty Susan.

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Rob Knox brother set to be a star

The brother of murdered Harry Potter star Rob Knox is set to star in EastEnders.

Jamie, 18, has already auditioned for the BBC soap and sources say the good looking teenager wowed producers. An insider said: "He came across as a thoroughly convincing actor.

"The decision now needs to be taken about whether future plot lines can accommodate talent like Jamie. "But all the signs are good - he's definitely a star of the future." And Jamie said: "I met the head of casting three weeks ago and read some scripts with him. He introduced me to one of the producers and we had a chat. "It all went really well. All I can do now is wait and see."
Jamie was just 16 when Rob, 18, was stabbed to death protecting him from a knife man in Sidcup, south-east London. Rob had just finished filming Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince with Michael Gambon.

Jamie has since made a movie of his own called Cold Kiss - playing a blade-wielding lout. It's due out next year and also stars anti-knife campaigner Ray Winstone. Jamie said: "Many of the scenes really upset me. But if it encourages one person to put down a knife then it's worth it."

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