Asif Khan, from Peterborough, filled in details pretending to be his mother in order to claim council tax benefits of ?3,587.16, the Evening Telegraph reports.

However, he was actually the owner of the house and has been ordered to pay back the money at Peterborough Magistrates Court.

The court told Mr Khan to pay compensation of ?1,624.12, plus ?70 in costs, as well as to complete 120 hours of unpaid work within the next year.

This is the latest in a number of benefit fraud cases in Peterborough. Since the city council began a campaign to crack down on the practice there have been numerous arrests, including three people being arrested for the offence inside a week.

One of the three was sentenced to six months in jail after breaking the law through benefit fraud, with the other two receiving unpaid work sentences of 100 and 50 hours respectively.