Ellis Matthews, 32, who claimed to be living on UK benefits in Thailand, has returned home but has left her four-year-old son with a relative in Thailand

08:25, 02 Sep 2025

Ellis Matthews, 32, claimed to be living on British benefits abroad
Ellis Matthews, 32, claimed to be living on British benefits abroad(Image: mumontherunninasia)

A mum who shared tips on how to claim benefits while living abroad has come back to Britain after being locked up in Thailand – but has left her young son behind.

Ellis Matthews, 32, was deported last month after spending more than three months in a rotting Thai immigration prison with her four-year-old son, Cairo. Before being detained for overstaying her visa, the mum had posted TikTok videos where she boasted of earning £2,300 per month in UK benefits while sunning it up in South East Asia – and taught others how to cheat the system.

She claimed to be living off Disability Living Allowance during her four years living abroad, after telling the DWP she had six mental disorders.

She has shared videos of her time at the Mothers and Children Immigration Detention Centre in Bangkok with her son
She has shared videos of her time at the Mothers and Children Immigration Detention Centre in Bangkok with her son(Image: mumontherunninasia)

But her dream life came to a crashing halt in March when she was detained along with her son and stuck in the Mothers and Children Immigration Detention Centre in Bangkok, a “hell hole prison” she claimed was overrun with rats and cockroaches.

Despite the squalid conditions, Ellie, from Bamber Bridge, Lancashire, refused to buy a plane ticket back to Britain because she feared that social services would take Cairo from her.

Now, upon her return, she has revealed that she has left her four-year-old with a relative in Thailand while she stays with friends – and has hit out at critics of her lifestyle.

Ellis now claims the videos about her life on UK benefits in Thailand were a 'joke'
Ellis now claims the videos about her life on UK benefits in Thailand were a ‘joke’(Image: gofundme)

She told the MailOnline: “Leaving Cairo behind was one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do. But I had no choice because I’m the victim of an online hate campaign that is making me out to be a bad mother.

“I would never allow him to be passed around suffering in UK care. He has the right to a safe childhood.”

Ellis also claimed that the videos she posted about her being in receipt of benefits “just a joke”, and that she never received a “single penny” of taxpayer’s money while living Thailand in.

“I was just lying in my videos to get more followers and make some money from my TikTok account”, she said.

The 32-year-old claims she and her son were forced to sleep on a concrete floor
The 32-year-old claims she and her son were forced to sleep on a concrete floor(Image: mumontherunninasia)

Since coming back the UK, Ellis has posted videos recalling her time locked up in Thailand with her son – and claims the two of them were forced to sleep on a concrete floor

In one video she reveals: “Imagine being locked in a filthy foreign jail with your three-year-old baby. That was me and my son Cairo. There was no beds no toys just a concrete floor that my three-year-old cried to sleep on every night while I was fighting people to protect him.

Article continues below

“We were trapped inside Thailand’s immigration detention centre sleeping in filth amongst cockroaches and rats. There was mothers breast feeding on the bare floor no nappies no formula no medical care.

“Some children were malnourished, and the disabled children were abandoned.”