Serial criminal raking in £4k-a-month in benefits admits he has so much left over he makes regular 'large' donations to the Labour Party

A serial criminal who is raking in almost £4,000-a-month in benefits has so much spare cash he makes ‘large’ monthly donations to the Labour Party, it has emerged.Stephen Nott has 30 convictions for 69 offences, including burglary and dishonesty, but is eligible for £3,000-a-month in Universal Credit and £750-a-month in Personal Independence Payments, which assist those with health issues.The 61-year-old admitted that other people ‘can’t believe’ the amount he receives each month in benefits but claims it is ‘not that much... when the cost of living is taken into account'.Nott’s monthly income - equating to £45,000 a year or a taxable salary of about £60,000 - emerged last week when he was sentenced at Newcastle Crown Court after admitting burglary.Nott, of North Shields, North Tyneside, tried to claim squatter’s rights at a widow’s holiday home, changed the locks and then ‘threatened’ her son when he came to check on the property.The court heard the property in the coastal town was used as a retirement holiday home and its owners would regularly visit.Nott, however, believed it was empty and after doing ‘a certain amount of learning on the internet’ believed he could take over the property under ‘adverse possession’ - or squatter’s rights.The owner’s son checked on the property in October last year and everything was in order, but when he returned on December 27 the locks had been changed and Nott was inside. Stephen Nott, 61, makes almost £4,000-a-month on benefits. He received a suspended prison sentence last week Nott, of North Shields, North Tyneside, admitted burglary after trying to 'squat' in a neighbour's propertyHe said Nott, who also has a conviction for a child sexual offence, then ‘squared up to him’ and shouted that he was going to ‘complete a hostile takeover'.Nott pleaded guilty to burglary and disclosed his benefits income during the sentencing hearing.He was handed a nine-month prison sentence, suspended for 12 months after the judge, Recorder Richard Stubbs, said he had a ‘misguided understanding of the law’.Nott now admits it must be ‘horrible’ for working people to discover the amount to which he is eligible in handouts. He has been on the same amount of benefits since 2022.‘I’ve even said, “What the heck? Why am I getting all of this?”’ he said, when approached at his home. ‘People can’t believe it. But that’s just what I get. That’s the money they give us.’He added: ‘I know it’s horrible to think about, that someone gets that benefit, but it’s not that much, is it?’He said he donates £100 to the Labour Party each month and also gives to a donkey sanctuary and the Humane World for Animals charity.However, he claims the money doesn’t last long as he pays £795-a-month in rent and £177-a-month in council tax, as well as other utility bills.The father-of-one, who says he was recently left homeless following a divorce, is also paying off credit card debt after he spent around £9,000 living in hotels.Of his most recent offence, Nott said: ‘It was my understanding the flat hadn’t been occupied since 2007.‘I got the locks changed on October 29. I was apprehensive entering but it was nice inside. It was like going back in time, to the 2000s, there was an old-fashioned television.‘I changed the gas and electricity into my name and I told all the neighbours I was living there.‘I also wrote to the relatives of the owner, letting them know what I had done.’Nott, who suffers from an array of health problems including arthritis, hypertension and diabetes, had emailed the flat’s owners ‘expressing interest’ in the property before he decided to move in, but the family believed he was manipulating the fact that one of the owners had recently died, the court heard.The court was also told the owners of the property no longer wish to return because of the incident and are selling up.