A man has been fined after making false claims in Crawley.

39 year old Imran Malik approached the Borough Council claiming to be homeless when in fact he had a residency in Croydon where he was also claiming benefits.

Malik failed to attend court and was found guilty in his absence of three offences under the Housing Act 1996.

He was fined £1,500 for each offence, totalling £4,500, ordered to pay the council’s costs of £1,729, and a victim surcharge of £120.