A fraudster who registered the births of 26 non-existent babies to claim £34,000 in benefits has been jailed.

Rory McWhirter convinced people to apply for jobs at a Glasgow hotel and used their details to get their marriage certificates.

McWhirter then registered fake births using the documents and claimed tax credits, child benefits and maternity grants.

He was only caught after he was recognised by staff during a return visit to a registry office in Aberdeen.

At Dundee Sheriff Court on Tuesday, McWhirter was jailed for two years and four months.

HM Revenue and Customs officials were alarmed when they received 350 requests for tax credits application forms from addresses in Dundee and Campbeltown linked to McWhirter.

He had visited registry offices around the country to record new births using the nuptial documents and forged letters from a 'Dr Hannah Miller' or 'Dr Fiona Adamson'.

The documents stated the doctors had delivered a home birth, while McWhirter claimed he was the man named on the marriage certificate and father of the new child, so he could receive a birth certificate and collect child benefits.

McWhirter was caught after he was spotted on camera attending a registrars in Edinburgh in his silver BMW which had a private registration. The car plate led them to the door of his flat at the time in Perth.

The 29-year-old, of Douglas Crescent, Edinburgh, pleaded guilty on indictment to a charge of fraud committed between June 1, 2014, and October 22, 2015, at addresses across Scotland.

He claimed tax credits amounting to £14,222.48, child benefits of £19,658.70, and a Sure Start maternity grant of £500, at a total of £34,381.18.

Sheriff Alastair Carmichael told McWhirter: "This was a fairly sophisticated fraudulent scheme.

"It was an attack on the public purse, on the integrity of the system of births, deaths and marriages and also an attack on the system of working tax credits, child benefit and maternity grants.

"Putting that all together there is no alternative to custody."