A WOMAN who hid the fact she got a student loan to claim £23,000 in benefits has been jailed.

Maryam Dinarvand, 29, was handed six months in prison at Wood Green Crown Court on Thursday after lying on a form.

She told the authorities she was not a student and was not receiving loans or grants leaving the way open for her to claim benefits including housing, council tax and job seekers allowance from 2004 to 2008.

In reality Dinarvand, who was living in Tottenhall Road, Palmers Green, at the time, was studying at the London Metropolitan University.

Councillor Andrew Stafford, cabinet member for finance and resources, said: “I am extremely happy about this sentence – we have been saying here in Enfield for some time that the courts should send a clear message to cheats that they stand a good chance of being jailed.

“This sentence helps us as a council in our remorseless war against cheats on behalf of hardworking tax payers, residents and genuine claimants.”