A former housing officer at Birmingham City Council has been sentenced to three years in prison for committing fraud against her employer.

An internal audit investigation by the council in 2014, found Ms Danyaal had submitted six fraudulent homeless applications using fabricated identities and personal information. She was later dismissed from her job role.

Zara Danyaal was found guilty of fraud and sentenced to 30 months’ for one count of social housing fraud and six months’ for two offences relating to job references.

Cllr Peter Griffiths, the council’s cabinet member for housing and homes, said: 'Danyaal committed an act of fraud and in so doing also prevented several families from being housed. Birmingham City Council has been proactive from the start in pursuing and bringing the perpetrators of this fraud to justice.

'Furthermore, all the properties obtained by the deception have now been recovered so that they can be let to citizens who are in genuine need of social housing.’

Her sister, Samara Malik, was also jailed for ten months relating to a offence of social housing fraud.