Barnet Council is set to clamp down on benefit fraudsters after a new policy was approved to prosecute offenders.

The council met last week to discuss the problem at their policy and implementation meeting.

"Benefit fraud costs the country £840m a year," said Councillor Danish Chopra, cabinet member of resources.

"Fraud in Barnet means that these precious resources are taken away from residents which could be spent on important services such as education, street cleaning and housing."

The council was criticised in a report by the Fraud Inspectorate which said its "counter fraud performance was very poor".

The council's new plan aims to strengthen anti-fraud measures including increased training for investigation officers so they can gather information for court cases.

Barnet Anti-Fraud Investigation Team, which works closely with the Benefits Agency, has already carried out some successful prosecutions. One man was sentenced to six months in prison after claiming £17,000 in benefits as a person who had been dead for 15 years.