A welfare cheat who sent her children to private school and drove around in a BMW while illegally helping herself to £43,000 in housing and council tax benefits is facing prison.

Jurors at Croydon Crown Court heard that crooked Angella Brown, of Silverleigh Road, Thornton Heath, was also given a social home after lying to Croydon Council that she was homeless and forced to live in overcrowded conditions with a friend.

In reality, the thief was married to her landlord and owned a property in Thornton Heath.

Last week, Brown was found guilty of eight charges of dishonestly making a false representation and a single count of obtaining property by deception between 1999 and 2009.

The swindler will be sentenced on Thursday.

Councillor Simon Hall, cabinet member for finance and treasury, said: “The vast majority of benefit claimants are good honest people. It is people like Brown who abuse the benefits system that give them a bad name.

“Her criminal lifestyle went on for 10 years, but this case goes to show that eventually, fraudsters will be caught and punished, and made to pay back the benefits they have illegally claimed.”