A mother who shaved her son"s head and eyebrows in a cancer scam has been jailed.

As part of the stg£85,000 (€106,329) benefit fraud the woman who is from Stroud in England made her son wear a bandana and put the news on Facebook.

She then used the cash to take her children to Florida where she made the boy sit in a wheelchair so they could jump queues.

She has been sentenced to almost 4 years.

Claimed benefits

The court had been told the woman who cannot be named for legal reasons kept up the pretence for 3 years while the boy was aged between 4 and 7.

It is reported the benefits the woman claimed included disability living allowance and carers" allowance as well as child tax credits.

When arrested she admitted 1 count of child cruelty, 8 counts of fraud and 1 of forgery.