A WOMAN has been given a suspended prison sentence after trying to buy a council house she no longer lived in at a £42,000 discount.

Margaret McAlpine, now of Dulverton Gardens, Little Lever, moved out of her two-bedroom Six Town Housing maisonette in Chapelfield, Radcliffe, in 2011 and into a new house she had bought in Little Lever.

She applied in February this year to purchase the Radcliffe property, declaring that she and her husband lived there.

Had McAlpine still been a tenant at that address, she would have been entitled to the maximum 70 per cent discount on the purchase price under Right to Buy rules, getting the £60,000 property for just £18,000.

But an investigation by Bury Council’s fraud team and Six Town Housing revealed that McAlpine’s daughter and son-in-law were actually living at the Chapelfield address.

McAlpine, aged 54, had been paying the rent since 2011 using a bank card which was registered at her new address, which she claimed was her daughter's.

McAlpine pleaded guilty to fraud by false representation at Manchester Crown Court on December 6.

She was given a 12-month suspended prison sentence and ordered to carry out 150 hours of unpaid work. She must also pay costs of £1,000 and a £100 victim surcharge.

Cllr Sandra Walmsley, Bury Council’s cabinet member for strategic housing and support services, said: “This property could have been used to house a family in real need but, because of McAlpine’s actions, has been unavailable for five years.

“We take housing fraud extremely seriously and are dedicated to making sure that social housing is available to those people who need it most.”

The Chapelfield tenancy has now been terminated and the property re-let by Six Town Housing.

A spokesperson for Six Town Housing said: “If you suspect tenancy fraud of any kind in a property we manage, please get in touch with Bury Council or ourselves.

"We are committed to combating tenancy fraud and will treat all information in the strictest of confidence. All complaints will be investigated and action will be taken if fraud is taking place."