Former Ipswich and England central defender Kevin Beattie has admitted benefit fraud totalling almost £9,000.

He pleaded guilty at Ipswich Magistrates’ Court today to receiving the cash over a two-year period and failing to notify a change of circumstances affecting his entitlement to benefits.

Beattie, 58, has been a popular summariser at some Ipswich games covered by BBC Radio Suffolk for a number of years.

He was given a curfew order until August 14 this year that forbids him from leaving his Ipswich council house between 10pm and 6am.

Beattie, who won nine England caps in the 70s and was also voted Town’s all-time best player in two separate supporters’ polls, was also told to pay £50 costs.

Carlisle-born Beattie, whose career was plagued by injury, played 307 games and scored 32 goals before retiring in 1982. He later made a few appearances for Colchester and Middlesbrough, and also had a spell in Norwegian football.

He was the first winner of the PFA Young Player of the Year award in 1974 and four years later won an FA Cup medal when Ipswich beat Arsenal at Wembley.

Beattie missed the UEFA Cup Final in 1981after he suffered a broken arm in the FA Cup semi-final defeat by Manchester City but he made eight appearances in earlier rounds and was later awarded a medal by UEFA.

Photo: Action Images

kerryblue added 20:19 - May 22 I think that the club should be so ashamed,I know that im ashamed of them and what one of our greatest players is going through surely there is something that can be done to help a superb Town Hero who has fallen on hard times.Look how much financial help was given to Michael Chopra and yet The Beat gets done over like this,it shows us all what low lifes the people that came in from the outside to run this club are and that they only value their back pockets,such a shame.

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gypo added 20:20 - May 22 Yes he was a great player and yes he was an Ipswich and England legend . But are all the other players from the 70's and 80's living in a council house and Getting done for fraud !!. He's only got himself to blame and not Ipswich town fc
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ozzydog added 20:24 - May 22 Kevin Beattie gave me some of the best days of my life. I forgive him To me he is and always will be a hero
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Ipswichbusiness added 20:27 - May 22 There are two separate points I would make. 1) It is very sad that such a talented individual, who even in the 1970s must have made quite a lot of money, should be reduced to this. 2) The sentencing for benefits cheats is far too lenient. These people take money from law abiding taxpayers such as us. For him to spend two years ripping us off for £9,000 and get away with a three month curfew order shows that the Courts do not take this crime seriously. In fact it is an almost penalty free crime. The surprise should be that more people don't do it.

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TheJam added 20:28 - May 22 If it was your next door neighbour stealing tax payers money, u'd want them to have to pay every penny back. Because its an ipswich legend with a drink problem, u don't ?
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Talbs77 added 20:28 - May 22 uppersirbob thats one of the funniest things I've read on here (people who have heard him on Radio Suffolk will get it!) I read in the star tonight that he was only getting around £45 a game on a saturday or somthing so he was hardly coining it in! Lets give him benefit (no pun intended) of the doubt and move on.
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harmitfc added 20:28 - May 22 Times are tough out there - and even a small indiscretion, such as the one shown by Beats, happen on an almost daily basis. Is what he did wrong? Yes. But surely the question should be: "Should it be allowed to happen?" - and the answer is NO! The guy was (and still is in my eyes) an absolute legend and should be able to benefit from the club in an emotional and financial way. Surely it is time that each player is forced to make a contribution to a "benevolent fund", similar to the scheme run by the Fire Services around the country. If a player then finds himself on hard-times the fund could make a payout to help them through. The history and tradition of each club should be made to endure through the generosity of the current playing staff. After all, without the heroes of the past, there would be no heroes today...

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JustSpivvyChops added 20:34 - May 22 Unbelievable that players like this have a council house and benefit fraud to look forward to, when this generation of plebs (that couldn't tie beats shoelaces) earn up to 10x the average national salary PER WEEK!!!! The worlds gone mad, but we already knew that...........
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evansblue added 20:36 - May 22 The beat has obviously made a mistake and i am not condoning that but it would be great if us fans could do something after all he has done for our great club. I am sure those of us in a position to, could chip in a few quid in and help him pay this off. How about setting something up on twtd Phil?
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ozzydog added 20:38 - May 22 Anyone one who criticises Kevin Beattie has absolutely no understanding of the history of ITFC and how the game has changed and the obscene money that is now paid to nobodies. Kevin Beattie is and remains an Ipswich Town legend.
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BillBlue added 20:50 - May 22 I truly do not know what to say. Beattie, without a shadow of a doubt, was the best footballer I ever saw. Even when he was in his prime he needed somebody to guide and care for him, remember when he got called up for England and didn't arrive? When I lived in Ipswich I used to see him most days and he would always call across the road "Hello mate". Cannot one of you younger, more energetic, people start a 'Help Beattie' collection and I will gladly contribute. Phil perhaps you can do something via this board? People like Beattie were not trained in life's skills nor taken care of and I believe the Club should share part of the responsibility for this.

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Strikes added 20:58 - May 22 I've got a lot of time for the Beat, true Town legend and always ready with a cheery "hello mate" (as referenced by BillBlue) even if he didn't know who you were. As has already been said, most of the current lot aren't fit to lace his boots. Unfortunately what he did was wrong and he needs to be punished and, as has already been said (again) if it was your average Joe in the street taking money from taxpayers he wasn't entitled to, we'd expect him to be dealt with much more harshly. I'd give him a few quid, even if he did spend it on lager.

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legoman added 21:02 - May 22 kevin Beattie is an innocent victim of fame coupled with lack of proper guidance. The damage was done back then and he has been one heck of a man to endure the the repercussion. I love his show on suffolk on saturdays, i hope this doesn't knock him backwards!
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southernblue added 21:15 - May 22 So what you're saying is because he used to play for Ipswich Town it makes it OK to be a benifit fraud. Forgive me if I don't feel sorry for an ex footballer who steals taxpayers money beacause they are to lasy to get a proper f***king job like the rest of us. I don't know what sickens me more, the fact he's been on the take, or the fact you sycophants feels sorry for him whilst he's nicking your money and earning a living on the radio....

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samvoller added 21:32 - May 22 How is it that when we hear of modern day footballers on huge money going bankrupt we say "What an idiot, just young punks who don't understand the real world wasting money" but when it comes to Beattie - who A) Is useless and arrogant on the radio, B) Wasted his money on drink C) Couldn't be bothered to use his footballing talent after his playing days (like many coaches/managers etc who are all still earning a living through the sport!) - you all seem to want to help him like a charity. Don't you see, we have already given him a few quid each, hence £9000, and now some of you want to help him...?? Just because someone is a legend at some point in their life, doesn't mean they are for the rest of their life.

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leroy2488 added 22:02 - May 22 I'm disgusted...... How could BBC Radio Suffolk be so tight? :))
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leroy2488 added 22:05 - May 22 I'm disgusted...... How could BBC Radio Suffolk be so tight? :))
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h32 added 22:29 - May 22 Whatever Kevin - you are still a LEGEND - and always will be in my book. GREAT Player - GREAT Man. Hold that head up high.
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h32 added 22:33 - May 22 BillBlue - agree with you.
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Dissboyitfc added 22:54 - May 22 Southernblue.. he has a full time job, caring for his wife, the only thing beatie is guilty of is ignorance, never was the sharpest knife in the draw, but i love ipswich and he was the greatest player we ever had. TRUE LEGEND
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TractorBoy666 added 22:56 - May 22 Only if we could get someone like him in our defense now.
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Morgan added 23:02 - May 22 It's a shame really that this has happened but benefits for care are not sufficient to support what most people would consider even substance living. The thing is though that is not an excuse and as an adult should be able to make correct decisions. What a crap fee from the bbc though, it's barely worth declaring! As for the banker bashing previously it is as much the fault of ignorance on behalf of the public living above their means as it was the banks pandering to it. Ignorance is not always a valid excuse for everything. Before my time Beatie, I was born in the wrong era as a Town fan!

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zebra added 23:10 - May 22 There's only one thing sadder than this story and that's the reaction of some of the people writing on this forum. Yes, it has cost ‘us' £9,000 - but haven't any of the people pouring out this anti-Beattie vitriol ever done anything wrong? Are they all purer than pure? Never ‘borrowed' a pen or pencil or what have you from their office? Never made a telephone call on the office telephone? Never exceeded the speed limit? You may say that these ‘crimes' are small beer, but multiplied by all of us it adds up to a sizeable sum. I find it particularly sick that this holier than thou attitude is so prevalent on this forum. Kevin Beattie is human. Shock, Horror. He's still one of the best football players I've ever seen play — anywhere.

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gilo1973 added 00:09 - May 23 Whilst not taking anything away from the player Beattie was the fact that the authority prosecuted meant there is more to this than published or wanted to be believed by many of the posters here. Prosecution is not taken very often as more often than not a caution or admin penalty is given. For a prosecution to be sought there must have been a deliberate act to deceive. If this was Martin Peters would the view from Town fans be the same? I think not!

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Tractastic added 00:22 - May 23 Funny how times have changed? One of the best defenders and players i have ever seen at Portman Road gets ridiculed from some quarters.Yes its a real shame that injury,addiction or whatever has caused Kevin to find himself in this difficult situation.But he was and is a true Ipswich legend who loved the club and deserves some respect. Dare we mention the club paying off Chopra's gambling debts and Jimmy's alleged drink fuelled antics? These days clubs support the problems players have aka Chopra and rightly so but it just seems a shame that players from the past who have issues like Beattie don't get help from the FA/Premier league as often its the players from the 70's/80's who didn't enjoy the money that the current player does need the help the most. I don't agree with irregular earnings but I'd rather have a Beattie any day of the week than some of the clowns Jewell has brought to this club.Good luck for the future Kevin a true ITFC Legend.

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