Angela Poole, along with her business partner George Taylor, ran businesses supplying sign language interpreters required under the government’s Access to Work scheme. Their trial at Derby Crown Court heard evidence Poole created false paperwork suggesting they had supplied services when none had been delivered.

An investigation uncovered a string of discrepancies, including a claim for four weeks’ support for a client who was out of the country during the period concerned, and another claim for seven different clients which added up to 27 hours work in a single day.

In court Poole was found guilty of conspiring with Taylor to defraud DWP of £409,000 between 2008 and 2013 by making false claims.

She was also found guilty of failing to pay tax, which amounted to £329,163 between 2008 and 2013. Taylor admitted the same charge to the sum of £312,404.

A DWP spokesman said: ‘If Angela Poole was matching the level of work she claimed, she would have been working 21 hours a day to generate the £200,000 she was claiming a year.

'The pair spent much of the money travelling the world, often claiming for work while they were out of the country. She even claimed for £5,000 even though she was on holiday in Dubai.'

Justin Tomlinson, minister for disabled people, said: 'Access to Work is a vital scheme that supports disabled people into employment and for someone to defraud it on this scale is appalling.'