An East Devon mother who swindled £33,000 by claiming her two sons were too disabled to walk is facing jail after one was seen pulling his Motability car in a show of strength.

Ann Hooper made claims on behalf of herself and her grown-up sons Aaron and Ryan which resulted in all of them receiving large Personal Independent Payments.

Benefit investigators found Instagram footage of Aaron sitting on a bollard in the car park of a gym and pulling a rope attached to the tow hitch of his car.

The footage, uploaded onto Instagram by the gym, showed him reeling in the rope and pulling the car several metres across the tarmac.

Other clips showed him lifting weights and carrying around tyres and heavy sacks.

They were filmed at a time when he was claiming benefits on the basis that he did not have the strength to grip a knife and fork or move more than a few metres without a wheelchair.

Aaron, aged 31, was also filmed walking unaided from his mother’s home on the edge of Axminster to the town centre with a guitar slung across his back.

Ann Hooper herself claimed not to be able to walk without a stick and to have severe physical impairments but was filmed covertly shopping unaided at her local supermarket, bending down to pick up coins, and carrying her shopping to her car.

Her younger son Ryan, aged 23, was filmed walking without a stick and with only a slight limp for two hours at the Honiton Show.

Investigators also found he had gone on holiday to Canada and posted pictures of himself outside standing in minus 16 degree temperatures.

Both brothers were filmed secretly wandering around the back balcony of their home with no visible disability.

Hooper, aged 49, of Bonners Glen, Axminster, denied three counts of benefit fraud but was found guilty by a jury at Exeter Crown Court.

She told the jury the claims were genuine and the boys were testing their ability and enduring terrible pain when they were filmed. She said she was having an abnormally good day when she was filmed at the shop.

Judge Timothy Rose told her: “The verdicts do not come as a surprise. You have been found guilty on utterly overwhelming evidence. Your decision to have a trial must be the most ridiculous decision you have ever made.

“You are in a serious position and I am not going to leave you with any false hope as to the outcome. I am considering a prison sentence and will need some persuading not to go down that path.”

He ordered a probation report and adjourned sentence to September 3.

During a three and a half day trial, the jury heard how Hooper claimed Personal Independence Payments for herself and as an appointee for her sons.

Her PIP claims said both were confined to wheelchairs, in constant pain, unable to perform the most basic tasks and in need of 24-hour care.

All three were all each paid £139.75 or £76.90 for the enhanced or standard rates of PIP.

The sons were both assessed at home by a nurse because they were said to be too disabled to travel and both used a stair lift and wheelchair during the visits.

Mr Paul Grumbar, prosecuting, said the disputed claims started when PIP replaced Disability Living Allowance in 2015 and carried on until a Department of Work and Pensions surveillance operation in July and August 2018.

He said: “On 18 occasions, footage was obtained of Aaron going about his daily activities unaided and walking with a seemingly normal pace and gait.

“There is footage from the Phoenix Gym in Chard. He is pulling one end of a rope with his mobility car at the other end, lifting heavy weights and sacks.”

He said Ryan was filmed at the Honiton Show in 2018, walking around for two hours and visiting a fast food stall. He also visited Canada.

Mr Grumbar said: “The Crown say Hooper dishonestly and deliberately failed to notify the DWP about the dramatic improvements, on any view, in their conditions."