A GREENOCK woman accused of benefit fraud allegedly had more than £42,000 in undeclared savings, a trial has heard.

Louise McIntosh denies a charge of obtaining Universal Credit (UC) payments worth £24,155.86 from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) between March 2017 and August 2018.

The 36-year-old appeared at Greenock Sheriff Court for trial on April 12 with prosecutors alleging she knowingly made a false statement or representation on a UC claim form.

Court papers state Ms McIntosh, of Inverkip Street, said she did not have savings or investments in excess of £6,000.

It is alleged that she did have savings over the prescribed limit.

The charge against her adds that she received the money to which she was not entitled 'while acting with another'.

The court heard evidence from a Crown witness who works as a fraud investigator with the DWP and had received a referral from HMRC regarding Ms McIntosh's case.

The witness explained to the court that anyone with savings or investments of over £16,000 is not entitled to claim UC, while those with savings of between £6,000 and £16,000 can claim support at a reduced rate.

Ms McIntosh had allegedly submitted a claim for full support, on behalf of herself and her partner Bryan McDonald, stating they had less than £6,000 in savings.

Procurator fiscal depute Lindy Scaife showed the court an overpayment notification letter detailing the amount and period of the alleged overpayment to Ms McIntosh.

Documents presented to the court showed Ms McIntosh received monthly payments of around £1,400 over 17 months from March 30, 2017 to August 29, 2018.

The court was then shown a joint Universal Credit online claim form filled out by Ms McIntosh that asked if the couple had any savings - to which they answered 'no'.

The form also included a warning about facing prosecution if any details were incorrect.

Ms McIntosh maintained her plea of not guilty through defence solicitor Amy Spencer and the trial, before Sheriff Sheena Fraser, was adjourned until May 17.