A couple who fraudulently claimed more than £200,000 of benefits over nearly 20 years have been spared jail to look after their severely disabled daughter.

Kerri Kinsey and Kevin Barrett admitted falsely claiming £203,395 in housing benefit, income support and council tax benefit between 1992 and 2011.

The couple, both of Stubbs Avenue, Slade Park, pleaded guilty to two counts of false accounting while 41-year-old Kinsey also admitted 10 counts of making false representation to claim benefits.

Prosecutor Julian Lynch told Oxford Crown Court today that Kinsey made the original false claim that she was a single parent living alone, but Barrett had been staying at the council property with her.

He added that over the period the pair, who had been together since their late teens, had been put in a number of council houses.

Kinsey admitted the charges at a hearing March but Barrett changed his pleas to guilty on the morning of his trial.

But Peter Du Feu, defending Kinsey, said that at the time and over the 19 years, Barrett had not always been staying at the family home.

He said Kinsey was the main carer for her daughter Chloe, now 23, who has the mental age of a six-year-old, and is wheelchair-bound and needs 24-hour support. The pair have another adult daughter together, who is healthy.

Jane Brady, defending Barrett, said the 45-year-old also cared for their daughter, especially now she was older and Kinsey needed extra support.

Judge Ian Pringle QC told the couple that their crimes passed the custody threshold but said he could suspend the prison sentences because of the affect it would have on both their daughters.

Barrett was handed an 18-month prison sentence, while Kinsey was given two years but both jail terms were suspended for two years.

The couple were also ordered to carry out a combined total of 420 hour's unpaid work.