A council which was the first to try to prosecute a mother for using a false address to get her son into a popular state school has dropped its case.
Mrinal Patel, 41, applied for a place for her five-year-old son Rhys at Pinner Park First School in Harrow, north London, in January last year.
She claimed she lived at Willow Court, Fulbeck Way, Harrow, and had chosen the school because "it was close to home and she could walk", Harrow Magistrates' Court heard.
But four months later when he had been offered a school place council staff found the address she had used did not match their tax records. It was alleged she was in fact living in Streatfield Road, Harrow - her current address.
Mrs Patel faced one count of fraud by false representation, but Harrow Council decided to withdraw the action to avoid potentially expensive legal costs, the BBC reported.
The council was attempting to prosecute Mrs Patel under the Fraud Act 2006, but it was no longer clear that it would cover this type of case.
In the academic year for which Mrs Patel applied, 2008/9, 411 parents expressed a preference for Pinner Park, and 90 places were offered to children living less than a mile from the school, according to Harrow Council.
Mrs Patel told the BBC she was relieved and the council's decision proved she was innocent.
"It's a great relief for me and my family. It's been an extremely difficult ordeal and I'm happy to put the matter behind me," she said. "I have from the outset denied the allegations and the council's unconditional withdrawal of the proceedings confirms my innocence."
Harrow Council leader David Ashton said that local authorities needed some form of sanction to deter parents from submitting false information when applying for school places. At the moment, he said, the only action the council could take was to withdraw the place if they discovered the information was wrong.
