A nurse who illegally obtained NHS training, bursaries and employment has been jailed for 18 months.

In total Marakia Godwin Majoni, 32, from Bexhill, defrauded the NHS of £47,568.

At Hove Crown Court he pleaded guilty to seven offences of fraud, theft and possession of a false identity document.

The court was told Majoni lawfully entered the UK from Zimbabwe in 2001 but failed to leave following the expiry of his initial permission to be in the country.

While unlawfully in the UK, before he was granted limited leave to remain, he worked illegally as a healthcare assistant for a number of employers, including Premier Care Network Nursing Agency and James Paget University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.

A tipoff to NHS Protect’s Fraud and Corruption Reporting Line led investigators to discover he had managed to get training and education from the NHS.

He also made dishonest applications to both University Campus Suffolk and NHS Bursaries to get his place on the Diploma in Higher Education in Adult Nursing course and NHS student bursary.

University Campus Suffolk has been asked by NHS Protect to consider revoking Majoni’s nursing diploma and his case has also been referred to the Nursing and Midwifery Council to consider whether he should be removed from its register