A COUNTY mother-of-two has been ordered to wear an electronic tag and stay within her home for 12 hours of the day for the next six months.

Laura Reid was sentenced to a restriction of liberty order between the hours of 7pm and 7am when she appeared for sentencing at Edinburgh Sheriff Court last Thursday.

Reid, of Moir Avenue, Musselburgh, had previously admitted wrongly claiming working tax and child tax credits amounting to £27,000.

Reid had claimed the amount from the Department for Work and Pensions over a two-year period despite permanently living with her partner Joshua Allison, who was in full-time employment.

The 33-year-old was paid the amount she was not entitled to between April 6, 2015, and April 5, 2017.

Sheriff Roderick Flinn had deferred sentence to last week for reports to be prepared and last week was told that Reid “was making repayments of her own volition”.

Solicitor Euan Gosney said that his client was currently taking a part-time university course and worked at an after-school club.

Mr Gosney said that Reid fully admitted the offence but that Mr Allison had not been staying at the family home “the whole time”.

The sheriff decided not to impose an unpaid work punishment as he believed that would “impact on her children” and acknowledged the offence was “out of character”. He also relaxed the restriction of liberty order to 9pm to 7am on Tuesdays as that was when Reid attended her university course.

Reid pleaded guilty to fraudulently obtaining working tax credits and child tax credits amounting to £27,000 between April 6, 2015, and April 5, 2017.