An electoral fraudster has escaped jail with a community order and 140 hours community service.

Kwasi Kramo, 35, pleaded guilty to forging signatures on dozens of voter registration forms he was employed to fill out.

He was sentenced at Croydon Magistrates Court on Thursday, September 16.

The former Croydon Council sub-contractor was employed to visit homes in Thornton Heath to gather information about voting age residents.

However, of the 320 forms he sent back to Croydon Council, 30 signatures were found to be forged, five were suspected and eight homes had new occupants.

He pleaded guilty at Croydon Magistrates Court to two charges of electoral fraud at an earlier hearing and was also ordered to pay £1,817 costs.

Magistrate, Gerald Ellis, told Kramo he had committed “a serious breach of trust” and he had known he was responsible for the task despite his claims it was someone else who had forged the forms.

Kramo tried to defend his actions by claiming he had swine flu when he was meant to be checking the homes and had asked a friend to do it for him.

He said had trusted the friend, who also delivered the forms back to the council, but chose not to disclose the name to arresting officers.

The fraudster was due to be paid £514 for the work he was meant to carry out but never received payment.