A mother and her teenage son have been arrested after she allegedly faked her own death in Zanzibar to claim insurance money.

Police said the 45-year-old woman's son and his guardian claimed she had died in a car crash in East Africa and allegedly provided false documents including a death certificate and accident reports to insurers.

The insurance company did not pay out the £140,000 as it was unable to verify the woman's death.

The woman's 19-year-old son, from Walsall in the West Midlands was arrested and admitted she was living in Canada, officers said.

The woman has been questioned by City of London Police's Insurance Fraud Enforcement Department after returning to the UK.

The son's guardian, a 24-year-old man from Walsall, has also been interviewed and all three have been released on bail until April.