A judge has told HM Revenue & Customs its behaviour was "ridiculous" and "a scandal" after the tax office attempted to fine a homeless man £1,600 for filing his tax return late.

The man, who had been a self-employed electrician, briefly returned to his native Poland in around April 2014 where he said his drink had been spiked with drugs causing him to lose his job and exhaust his savings when he returned to Britain.

He said he was evicted from the house in east London where he had been living and all his belongings were lost or stolen, including important documents.

He said he had been forced to sleep on the streets until moving into a hostel in January 2017, which led to him finding a job and permanent accommodation in April of that year.

By this time his tax return for the time when he had been self-employed was more than a year late, but was filed within three months of him getting back on his feet.

HMRC was forced to apologise after it attempted to issue penalties of £1,600, saying it had sent reminders to his previous address.

The man, who is named in court documents, complained, saying his homelessness satisfied the criteria for “special circumstances” meaning he had a reasonable excuse for late filing.