A Southall woman has been imprisoned after falsely claiming £25,838 in housing benefit.

Taj Ali of St Crispins Close, Southall, pleaded guilty and was sentenced at Isleworth Crown Court on Friday 9 December.

She was sentenced to four months in prison and is paying the money back to the council at a rate of £15 per week under a voluntary arrangement.

This amount is the maximum per week that the council can take as Ms Ali is in receipt of income support.

She had been claiming housing benefit on the Crispin Close property for three years and had falsely declared that she was not related to her landlord.

However, a council investigation discovered that the property was actually owned by her sister and her brother and that the money was being used to pay the mortgage.

Housing Benefit is only paid to people when they are part of a commercial tenancy and claimants are asked to declare any relationships as part of their application. When interviewed under caution, Ms Ali admitted that she was living in her family’s house.

Councillor Yvonne Johnson, cabinet member for Finance and Performance, said: "Ms Ali stole this money from all of us, so it is only right that she is given a custodial sentence. What she did was wrong and she is now paying the price. I hope that this judgement will serve as a lesson to anyone making fraudulent claims."

Anyone with any information about a benefit cheat can report their suspicions anonymously via the council’s 24-hour fraud hotline on 0800 328 6453 (free from landlines) or email fraudreferrals@ealing.gov.uk. Callers do not have to leave their name.