A BENEFIT cheat who invented five children so she could claim more money has escaped jail.

Ceri Cantwell told child support bosses she had one set of quads and one set of triplets as well as three other children.

She actually had five children in total, but claimed child maintenance for 10.

When the 28-year-old gave birth to her fourth baby, in 2001, she told benefit chiefs she had had twins.

Nine days later she rang again to say she had actually had triplets.

And eight days after that she changed her mind again, saying she now had quadruplets.

Then, in 2005, Cantwell, from Meadow Way, Halton Brook, had another baby.

This time she rang the benefits agency to tell them she had had triplets.

In April 2005 she was interviewed under caution and admitted falsifying claims.

The total cost of her fraud was £21,654, Warrington Crown Court heard on Friday.

"By increasing the number of children she had from one to four, the alarm bells at the authorities should have started to ring," said Jeremy Lawson, defending.

He said that Cantwell had been in a "desperate" situation and she was told she could get extra money by claiming maintenance for children she did not have.

She and her husband needed extra money to save their home, Mr Lawson said.

But His Honour Judge David Hale said Cantwell had committed deliberate fraud.

"This is a very serious matter of obtaining more than £20,000 of public funds in an act of quite deliberate fraud," he said.

"I have no doubt that the appropriate sentence is custodial but I am going to suspend it because of your five children who would suffer if you were imprisoned," he said.

Cantwell received an eight-month sentence suspended for two years.

She must also complete a two-year supervision order.