A man who illegally claimed more than £28,000 while studying abroad has been jailed.

Olutope Abegunde, 34, claimed housing benefit, council tax benefit and income support for his home in Garwood Close, Tottenham.

An investigation by Haringey Borough Council found that while he was claiming benefits he spent two years in the Nigerian city Lagos working towards a qualification in ‘fracking’.

At Tottenham Magistrates court Abegunde was sentenced to 14 weeks in prison after earlier pleading guilty to two charges of dishonestly making a false declaration.

Cllr Joe Goldberg, cabinet member for finance, said: “The vast majority of families who claim benefits do so lawfully, and this makes us even more determined to clamp down on those who cheat the system for personal gain.

“Fraudsters who flout the rules will face the full force of the law and – as this case shows – time behind bars.”