A mum who tried to fradulently buy a council house – and then blamed it on her son – has received a suspended sentence.

Jacqueline Warr pretended to live in a property in Ivy Walk, Dagenham, to qualify for the Right to Buy scheme but a council investigation revealed that she actually lived in Peterborough.

The 47-year-old – who used her maiden name in the application in an attempt to fool council officers – claimed in court that her son made the Right to Buy application without her knowledge and forged her signature.

Warr was found guilty of two counts of fraud after a three day trial and was sentenced to 15 months in prison, suspended for two years, at Snaresbrook Crown Court on Thursday.

She was also ordered to pay the council £9,850 in costs and a £150 victim surcharge.

Judge William Clegg QC said it was a “great tragedy” that Warr did not admit her guilt from the outset.

Cllr Dominic Twomey said: “Thanks to the efforts of officers the property has now been handed to a deserving family.”