Ex-beauty queen faces £22k benefit con charge
A FORMER soldier who became the first divorcee in a Miss Great Britain contest appeared in court yesterday over a £22,000 benefit fraud.
Rachel Hatton competed in the 2010 contest after organisers allowed single mothers and divorcees to enter for the first time in 65 years.
The 28-year-old mother is accused of claiming £22,000 in benefits as a single parent while actually living with her partner.
Nathaniel Simon, 35, from Northampton, was also in court charged with claiming benefits as her landlord.
Hatton, wearing a white blouse and black suit, sobbed at Northampton Magistrates Court yesterday as she indicated she would plead not guilty to charges of making a false statement or representation to claim benefit cash.
She also indicated pleading not guilty to fraud by false representation to claim legal aid.
Her case was adjourned until March 2 for a committal hearing. Her partner Simon’s case was also adjourned while proof could be found that he was entitled to legal aid.
My childhood ambitions were to represent my country as a model soldier and to be a beauty ambassador.
Prosecuting, Russell Eaton said the allegations arise from a sophisticated fraud over a long period.
Hatton, from Northampton, was married for three years until her divorce in 2007. She left the Army in 2009 after serving as a communications specialist.
In 2010 she said: “My childhood ambitions were to represent my country as a model soldier and to be a beauty ambassador.”