A landlord and planning agent were caught after forging forms that did not exist for the years they were submitting them.

Kingsbury landlord Martin Joseph Hetherton teamed up with surveyor Michael Durham to try to trick Brent Council to approve planning permission for a studio flat in Church Lane.

The pair submitted fake tenancy agreements to cover 2008, 2009 and 2011 to try to trick the planning authorities into believing the studio had been in use for more than four years and was therefore lawful.

However it was discovered that the tenancy agreements were fake because they were created on law pack forms - which were not actually published until 2012, meaning none of the agreements could have been signed in 2008, 2009 or 2011.

Both Mr Hetherton and and Mr Durham appeared at Willesden Magistrates' Court on May 19, where they pleaded guilty to submitting forged tenancy agreements and were each fined £3,000 and ordered to pay costs of £2,286.

The court heard how this conviction meant Mr Durham would no longer be able to continue working as a surveyor and that he had already resigned from the professional group that regulates surveyors.

Councillor Margaret McLennan, responsible for regeneration and housing at Brent Council said: "Professional misconduct such as this is unacceptable.

"Planning rules are in place for a reason and those who ignore them run the risk of not just receiving hefty fines but of having their professional reputations ruined too."