A fraudster who used another man’s identity to gain a council job and home as well as thousands in benefits has been jailed, a London council has reported.

An investigation by Royal Greenwich revealed Christian Ikediashi, formerly of Dawson Close, Woolwich, had used the identity documents of another man to get a job as a waste operative with the council in October 2009.

Mr Ikediashi held the post until 2013 when he was dismissed for continuous absence.

In 2010, he then used the same identity to submit a housing application to Royal Greenwich. He was given a one bedroom flat in May 2013.

The investigation also found that from August 2012 to July 2016 Mr Ikediashi had obtained Housing Benefit totalling £13,595.00 with the same false identity and papers.

Officers in the Royal Borough’s Internal Audit & Anti-Fraud team became suspicious when a National Fraud Initiative data matching exercise found that the man who Mr Ikediashi pretended to be had a council tenancy in another London borough.

Mr Ikediashi was charged with four Fraud Act offences and two offences under the Social Security Administration Act 1992. Cllr Maureen O’Mara, cabinet member for Customer Services, said: ‘This is a great example of the good results that can come from partnership working between the Royal Borough and various agencies.

‘Had it not been for the National Fraud Initiative identifying that two council tenancies were held in the same identity this case may have never come to notice and Mr Ikediashi would have continued to defraud us of a much needed Council home

‘With the Royal Borough investigators collating all the evidence and locating him in Manchester there was only going to be one outcome for Mr Ikediashi and I am pleased to hear he has now gone to prison.’

‘Thanks should also go the Greater Manchester Police who assisted our officers all the way,’ she added.