A Mayor of a Pembrokeshire town claimed mobility and care allowances while he was also refereeing at football matches for the Welsh Football League and the West Wales Football Association, Haverfordwest magistrates heard on Monday. Forty-nine-year-old Keith McNiffe, who stood down from his post as Mayor of Pembroke last month, admitted two charges of illegally obtaining benefits amounting to £9,233. Investigators secretly filmed McNiffe as a linesman during a match on March 24 of last year. Subsequent checks with the West Wales FA found that during the 2005/06 season he had officiated in 34 matches as a referee or linesman. The following season, he officiated at 33. Magistrates were told that in February 2007, Mr. McNiffe passed a West Wales FA fitness assessment which saw him run 2,400m in less than 12 minutes. He also completed two 200m runs in under 32 seconds each and also two 50m sprints in less than eight seconds each. The court heard that Mr. McNiffe had been claiming both mobility and care allowances at the higher rate since he suffered medical problems in 2002, when he had a thyroid gland removed after the discovery of a growth. He underwent an emergency operation to remove his stomach and following this, had been told by doctors to increase his weight loss regime. Adjourning sentence to May 19, magistrates asked for a pre-sentence report and said they had not ruled out custody as an option.
