A former Page 3 girl faces jail after splashing out on a £34,000 Porsche while claiming thousands in benefits.

Sadie Collis, 27, and husband Derek Collis, 31, bought the car with part of a £100,000 nest egg they had stashed in four secret bank accounts.

Collis, Miss Great Britain Bikini 2003, wept as a court was told she could go to prison for claiming more than £13,000 in housing and council tax benefits over three years.

At Worthing Magistrates’ Court, the couple pleaded guilty to four joint charges of benefit fraud.

Magistrates warned the couple: “The matter has lasted a long time and a lot of money is involved, therefore custody is an option.”

Council officers warned they were keen to take action against people who fraudulently claim housing benefit.

Collis, a former Page 3 model went to Boundstone Community College, Boundstone Lane in Lancing and Brighton University. She was a successful Page 3 model under her maiden name, Wigglesworth.

The couple began receiving housing and council tax benefit from Worthing Borough Council in July 2004.

They said their only income was from Mr Collis and some working tax credit. They were visited by the council several times over the next two years but stated no change in circumstance.

In fact in January last year, during a routine check by the council verification officer, the couple said the only change in circumstance was that Mrs Collis was now heavily pregnant. But during that time, the pair had amassed around £100,000, which they had stashed in four undeclared bank accounts.

The true extent of the fraud began to surface after a final visit by the council in August last year.

During a formal interview under caution, Mrs Collis admitted she had received £27,630 through a trust fund set up by her late father.

Mr Collis then admitted he had received £43,102 from a personal injury insurance pay-out.

Initially Mrs Collis claimed the reason they had not declared these sums was because they knew it would have to last them a long time. Later in the interview it was revealed that in fact almost £35,000 was withdrawn immediately after the money had come in to buy a new Porsche.

After an investigation was launched and the couple sold the Porsche but spent £12,000 on a Ford Cosworth.

They claimed the unexplained £40,000 had been raised through selling possessions on eBay and at car boot sales.

In total, the couple received £13,911 in benefits to which they were not entitled. This has been paid back through a loan from Mrs Collis’s mother and the sale of the Cosworth.

The couple were released on bail to be sentenced today.