- She spent two weeks in hospital at taxpayers' expense after having quintuplets'
The Nigerian who cost the NHS up to £200,000 after travelling to Britain while expecting quintuplets has been illegally working as an Avon lady.
Bimbo Ayelabola, 33, applied for a six-month visitor's visa soon after discovering she was pregnant, travelling to the UK without her husband to visit her three sisters.
She gave birth to two boys and three girls in April after a complex Caesarean section and remained in hospital for almost two weeks, paid for by the taxpayer.
Cash in hand: Bimbo Ayelabola, who came to Britain from Nigeria when pregnant with quintuplets, is working illegally as an Avon Lady"
Within days of returning to her sister's flat in Poplar, East London, she began distributing catalogues and selling Avon’s make-up, perfume and beauty products.
But under the terms of her visa, which expired last month, she is unable to work in the UK or claim benefits.
She is now fighting to remain in the country. Yesterday a neighbour said: 'She has dropped at least two Avon booklets through the door in the past couple of months. I'm sure she has visited other homes in surrounding streets.
Helping hand: A friend of the Nigerian mother carries one of her babies to a waiting car"
‘She’s definitely working for Avon because I bought something from her last month. She never let on that she was not allowed to work in this country.’
A Home Office spokesman said last night: ‘The UK Border Agency will thoroughly investigate any reports of anyone breaking the terms of their visa.’
Mrs Ayelabola is registered as a full-time mother on her children’s birth certificates.
She says she was unaware she would have as many as five babies when she arrived in Britain late last year.
The multiple births are likely to be a result of double doses of fertility drug Clomid, which she took for eight times longer than recommended after buying the pills over the counter in her home city of Lagos.
The total bill to the taxpayer for Mrs Ayelabola’s care is expected to reach £200,000.""
Foreign nationals should be charged for the full cost of their treatment, but Mrs Ayelabola is not able to pay. The five babies, who were born prematurely at 32 weeks, were treated in a special-care unit, where the cost of a week’s stay for the family would be £35,000 alone.
The case has once again raised the issue of ‘health tourism’, in which foreigners come to take advantage of Britain’s state-funded health system. It is estimated to cost the NHS £200million a year.
Treated: Bimbo Ayelabola, who had quintuplets in Britain, was treated at Homerton Hospital in Hackney, east London"
Mrs Ayelabola was treated at Homerton hospital in Hackney, east London.
Andrew Boff, Hackney resident and Conservative member of the Greater London Authority, said: ‘You can’t refuse to give someone treatment once they’re in the country, as we’re talking about human life.
‘But what this case does point out is that this country does not have a good immigration policy.
'It does need to be stricter in its application. Our health system should be for those who live in the UK.
'It can’t be open to anybody who comes in speculatively. That’s because UK people fund it.
‘It should be a requirement for anyone coming in that they have an adequate travel insurance policy, to prevent such occurrences in future.’
Mrs Ayelabola has applied for an extension to her visa as she claims the children – two boys, Tayseel and Samir, and three girls, Aqeelah, Binish and Zara – are still too frail to travel.
She said in an interview: ‘I had already had miscarriages and couldn’t bear the stress another pregnancy would cause. I thought I would stand a much better chance of avoiding another miscarriage in a calmer place with friends and family.’
Her 37-year-old husband, Ohi Ilanbare, a civil engineer, remains in Nigeria.
The children do not have an automatic right to British citizenship, despite being born in the UK.
To qualify, they would need at least one parent who is British, or who has indefinite leave to remain in the country.
An Avon spokesman last night said the firm would investigate how Mrs Ayelabola became a saleswoman for the brand. Mrs Ayelabola was unavailable to comment.
Money maker: An Avon spokesman last night said the firm would investigate how Mrs Ayelabola became a saleswoman for the brand"
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