Gail Hollins, aged 22, of Merrivale Road, admitted fraudulently claiming Income Support and Housing and Council Tax Benefit when she appeared at Stafford Magistrates Court yesterday (March 28).

Clare Beddows, representing Stafford Borough Council and the Department of Works and Pensions (DWP), said that between April 2010 and May 2011 Hollins had fraudulently claimed £8,888.

Miss Beddows added: “When Hollins made the claim she had said she was a single parent. In fact at the time she had a partner and they were living together.

“When she was first questioned following the start of an investigation she said that her partner only stayed at weekends and worked away the rest of the time.

“However he paid household bills, the couple transferred money between their bank accounts and they went on holiday together as a family.”

Hollins who was not legally represented, was ordered to complete a 12 month Community Order and pay £100 costs.

Councillor Ken Williamson, Stafford Borough Council’s cabinet member for resources, said: “The fact that a partner works away for some of the time is completely irrelevant. This was a fraudulent claim.

“People who claim benefits to which they are not entitled penalise the honest families who pay their dues, and all the money incorrectly paid will now be recovered by the council and DWP.”

In an emotional speech at the funeral of the policeman, who was shot and blinded by gunman Raoul Moat, Darren Rathband said:“I hope the memories of my brother, and Ashley and Mia’s father, are not tarnished by others that feel the need to set the record straight.

“Because the record is simply this: PC Rathband succumbed to his injuries and the struggle with life – having been shot by a coward who shall remain forgotten.”

Darren went on to describe the day-to-day life struggles David had to endure during the last eighteen months of his life, which he referred to as ‘borrowed time’.

“David was left at Heathrow during his connecting flight [to Australia] as they’d forgotten about him.

“He told me about sitting on the plane with almost 400 people being unable to find the sugar for his tea or butter for his bread, and although guided to the toilet, he was left to find the layout and the toilet seat with his hands.

“He sat on the plane not knowing whether the question, ‘Sir, would you like a meal?’ was directed at him or someone else. He did not eat.

“This was my brother’s new world and it certainly wasn’t first class.”

Speaking of Moat’s attack on David in Northumberland in 2010, Darren said:“How ironic that American Independence Day was the day he lost his independence, and I lost some of me.

Addressing the congregation, he added: “When you close your eyes tonight you will have just the thinnest idea of the dark life David had to endure.

“Some of us will question why, but try to understand his loneliness, the darkness he could not share with anyone.”

He grew up in Staffordshire before moving to Northumberland to join the police force – where he was blinded on the job by gunman Raoul Moat.

“Always Look on the Bright Side of Life” played as people entered the chapel – the lyrics said to encapsulate David’s optimistic outlook and irrepressible humour.

The service was conducted by humanist celebrant Carly Fee with contributions from David’s friends and family.

The Constable’s great nephew Ellis Hall read a poem written by his grandmother, David’s older sister Julie. It included the lines:

‘We will never know the pain he felt

With the terrible blow he had been dealt.

His life had been changed beyond repair.

Why is life so cruel and unfair?’

Joselyn Forester- Melville explained how she came to meet the Police Constable after stopping at a road traffic collision in Northumberland, where she witnessed two women die.

She described how David, who was the first officer at the scene, acted as a pillar of support to help her come to terms with her own trauma.

She described him as ‘a brilliant example of a decent human being, with a bright soul and a kind heart’ , before reading the poem ‘The Final Inspection.’

Paul Johnson, who described PC Rathband as his best friend, spoke about their teenage days.

“Together we thought we could conquer the world… We had one hell of a time attempting to do so.”

He added: “It must have been a one in a million chance that David survived that barbaric day on the 4^th July. But David was one in a million- so it should have been no surprise.”

The closing words of the ceremony were from David’s twin brother, Darren. He described the last eighteen months of his brother’s life as ‘borrowed time’ before describing David’s every day struggles after losing his sight.

He said of his brother: “Being a twin has always been special to me and although identical to me, David was an individual.

I can never come close to the man he was.”

‘I’ll See You Again’ by Westlife was played as the procession left the chapel. The lyrics say: ‘Always you will be part of me and I will forever feel your strength when I need it – gone but not forgotten.’

Blue balloons were released into the air following the service – 190 in total, in recognition of his police call sign ‘Tango 190.’

Click below to hear more of Darren Rathband’s emotional speech:

Click below to see pictures from the funeral. Photos by Sean Morris:

Staffs are currently five points behind second placed Coventry, with a game in hand, but remain optomistic that they can go undefeated in their upcoming games.

Following their 4-0 win against bottom of the league side, Northampton, captain Shell Wildsmith said: “I think it’s more than likely we will finish in second place and that would be something to be really proud of.

“We had a few slip ups at the start of the season so clawing it back now and coming second will be perfectly good for the girls.”

The side dominated the beginning of the first half in the Northampton tie, which saw two early goals from defender Wildsmith and forward Nelly Tyanase.

Centre forward Kerry Linton was denied numerous times, with most attempts going just wide.

The Staffordshire side lost form briefly when their captain left the pitch after taking a ball to the foot and were lucky not to concede with a key defensive player out of the game.

But they doubled their lead during the second half with goals from midfielder Laura Underhill and a second from Tyanase.

Despite the scoreline, Wildsmith, who saw most of the game from the sideline, admits the team could have given a stronger performance.

“The girls needed a bit of a break, a bit of fun,” she said. “So we went out there and played a bit of knock about hockey during the first half.

“When you’re playing a social sport it’s very important to keep the fun aspect there, otherwise people won’t do it.

“We got the win which is the most important thing.”

Coventry, who hold second place, need to concede or draw their final game if the Staffs side are to have a chance of securing second.

Their penultimate league game is at Nottingham University on March 14.

Cllr Dave Conway, who is the leader of the independents on the council, made his comments after the local authority opted to approve a 3.49 per cent rise in tax.

This means Stoke-on-Trent is one of only 31 council areas in England to agree higher bills from April.

Cllr David Conway

“I sometimes think that I feel ashamed to be a councillor,” he said. “More often I feel ashamed to be part of the human race.”

Cllr Conway had tabled a last-minute motion calling on council officers earning more than £50,000 to take a voluntary five per cent pay cut in an attempt to reduce the rise – but his plan was rejected by fellow councillors.

“If they really believe we should protect services and the people who run them then I thought it was a small sacrifice to do this,” he explained.

“It is hypocritical to say that we want to promote a working city, when you think that people on that sort of money will not sacrifice to make sure others are kept in employment.”

Council leader Mohammed Purvez told responded to Cllr Conway’s criticism by insisting the most vulnerable would be protected, but said it was a “difficult decision for difficult times”.

But his guarantees were dismissed by the councillor for Little Chell and Stanfield.

“The biggest losers are families, the residents and the older people,” he insisted. “All in all, it is an attack on the vulnerable.

“The council say they have got serious financial difficulties, but families are going to have the same or more.

“It is a dark day for our city.”

The two sides lock horns in a re-arranged league encounter at Vale Park tomorrow (February 28).

And both teams are desperate for the three points to cement their League Two play-off hopes.

Just two points separate the sides, with Vale in eighth just three points behind Oxford United in the final play-off spot.

Vale striker Tom Pope, formerly of Crewe, believes the visitors’ young midfielder Nick Powell is a key threat.

“Nick Powell is scoring goals for fun,” he said.

“He’s only 17 and he’s going to be a big one for the future. They will provide a good challenge.

“Their performance this season has proved they’re going to be a threat.

“They are scoring a lot of goals. Steve Davies has come in, he looks like he’s got them working. He is doing a good job at the minute.”

Vale midfielder Andy Griffith agrees, adding: “They’ve always been a good side in my eyes.

“They have some of the best players I’ve played against in the league.

“Being a local derby, the heat of the moment and the nature of the game, it’s always been a good test.”

Griffith admits the bad weather left him “itching for a game” but believes having a backlog of matches won’t tire them out.

“You don’t not stay fit at this club, especially with Mickey Adams,” he added.

“It’s never in question, our fitness. As long as we get the three points it doesn’t matter what day of the week it is for us.”

The game kicks off at 7.45pm.

Just two points separated the sides at the start of play, with the visitors from Birmingham occupying third place in the BUCS Midlands 3A league, with Staffs just a position below them in fourth.

Neither side scored in a tight first-half, although the hosts will have been disappointed not to convert a number of short corners.

Staffordshire eventually took the lead seven minutes into the second half, thanks to a strike from Nelly Tyanase from a short corner. It was to be the spark for a scoring spree as a minute later a reverse stick strike from midfielder Laura Underhill doubled the lead.

A third followed shortly afterwards as Tyanase bagged her second goal of the game with a shot from the top of the D.

Defender Michelle Wildsmith was the next to score as Staffordshire University dominated the second period.

Another from Underhill five minutes before the final whistle secured Staffs a 5-0 win – their biggest victory of the season and a far cry from the 3-2 defeat suffered in the corresponding fixture in October.

Captain, Michelle Wildsmith was delighted to leapfrog Aston in the table.

“We’ve just moved up to third in the league table which is good,” she said. “We are still a game in hand on a couple of teams so anything is possible.

“But we need to make sure we come out strongly from the start of the game. It took us until the second half to score our first goal so that’s a whole 35 minutes or five other goals we could have scored. Other than that it was a good performance, we’ve just got to start better.”

Their next league game is against Northampton University at home on February 29.

Judge David Taylor placed the order on Marcin Maciaga, of Sandyford, because he was unable to complete an original community work punishment.

Maciaga, 23, was first sentenced to 150 hours of unpaid work after being caught with the weapon, even though the offence normally carries a jail term.

He attended 11 out of 15 sessions before a sporting injury in his right knee meant he couldn’t complete it.

Judge Taylor, at Fenton Magistrates, told Maciaga, who appeared in court on crutches, he would have to comply to a curfew order instead.

Then the judge admitted such a punishment for being caught with a knife “may be so extremely lenient that the public may laugh at it.”

“You were extremely fortunate for the court to give you a community order in the first place,” he added.

“People who carry knives need to be deterred and can be deterred by sending them to prison.

“I want you to understand how fortunate you are and how unusual you are in terms of sentencing.”

Polish-born Maciaga is now required to reside at home in Broadfield Road, Sandyford, between 8pm and 5am. He also has to wear an electronic tag.

In defence, Maciaga said carrying a knife in Poland was not considered unusual, and he was unaware of the legal implications of doing so in England.

Thirty-seven-year-old Steven Dimmelow, of Blatchford Close, Meir, was found with three wraps of heroin on February 2.

Fenton Magistrates Court heard how Dimmelow, who has been using class A drugs for almost two decades, is currently enrolled on a voluntary methadone programme. On the day of his arrest, he missed getting his prescription and was told it would take five days to be reinstated.

Dimmelow pleaded guilty to buying enough heroin to last him for the five day period but in buying the drugs he breached the conditional discharge he received for a previous case of harassment.

District Judge David Taylor told Dimmelow: “Justice would not be served if I locked you up.”

He was given a week long attachment to residence order and conditional discharge for 12 months, as well as being ordered to pay £85 costs.

Alternative cooking methods are being promoted by Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service as part of the national Ban the Pan initiative during National Chip Week, which runs from February 20 to 26.

Last year, over a quarter of cooking fires in the county were caused by chip pans, and 15 people were injured as a result.

Station Manager Brian Griffiths said: “We attend numerous fires caused by people putting their chip pans on and then falling asleep or getting distracted by a phone call or someone at the door.

“We would urge people to either use deep fat fryers instead, which are much safer because they are thermostatically controlled which means they can’t overheat, or consider a more healthier option that does not require the use of cooking fat or oils.

The best advice of all is not to use the chip pan.”

Click below to see a firefighter demonstrate the dangers of a chip pan fire: