An immigrant who stayed in the country illegally falsely claimed almost £50,000 in bursaries to qualify as a nurse, a court heard.

But Nomsa Muhlwa, 27, walked free after a judge said he had taken into consideration that she had "given something back to the community".

The Zimbabwean mother-of-two arrived in the UK in 2002 and was granted a six-month visa that prohibited her from working.

She then sucessfully applied to Hull University and was a student there from September 2004 until January 2008 and graduated with a BSc in nursing.

Tom Allen, prosecuting, said Muhlwa obtained an NHS bursary for the four years totalling £48,742 by using a forged Home Office letter stating she had indefinite leave to remain in the UK.

She later worked for West Kent Primary Care Trust as a community staff nurse.

When arrested in February last year, she had in her possession a false Zimbabwean passport, Mr Allen told Maidstone Crown Court.

A search of her home revealed documents confirming appeals against refusal of asylum had been rejected.

Muhlwa, of Hayes, Middlesex, admitted false accounting, using a false instrument and possessing a false identification document.

James Martin, defending, said Muhlwa was not someone who had entered the country illegally, although she used false documents to obtain a qualification and employment.

"It is an extremely sad state of affairs," he said. "She is a young woman driven from her home because of political concerns."

She wanted "more than anything to establish herself as a hard-working member of society".

Mr Martin added Muhlwa had been given exceptional leave to remain in the UK until the beginning of August.

Judge David Griffith-Jones QC said the matter was so serious that nothing less than a prison sentence was justified, but he was prepared to suspend an eight month term for 18 months.

She was also ordered carry out 200 hours unpaid work.

"I take note of the difficult circumstances from which you chose the path that led to these offences," he said.

"In particular, I note you obtained a bursary to which you were not entitled to have in order to better yourself and have since worked in a position in which you were able to give something back to the community."