Fraudsters who illegally sublet their council homes nearly cost the taxpayer £7.2million in one year.

Last year, 48 properties owned by Barnet council had their tenancies ended after an investigation from the authority's anti-fraud team.

Each property is worth £150,000 - the equivalent cost of building a new social housing unit.

During 2014, a council tenant illegally sublet his one bedroom home on Gumtree, while another swapped life in Barnet to be a landlady at a pub in Clacton-on-Sea and rented out her property.

Council officers also prevented 24 fraudulent attempts to take advantage of the ‘right to buy’ scheme to purchase council properties at a discounted rate.

Councillor Richard Cornelius, Barnet council leader, said: “In these difficult economic times it is very important that we protect every penny of taxpayers’ money that we can.

“The number of attempts to commit tenancy fraud successfully being detected by our fraud investigators shows just how important their work is.”

Troy Henshall, chief executive of Barnet Homes, said: “This is a remarkable achievement and many congratulations to everyone who helped make it happen through true partnership working.

“The demand for affordable homes in Barnet is much greater than the number of properties available, so this releases 48 much needed homes for deserving families in the borough.”