Notorious Lancs TikToker Ellis 'mum on the run' Matthews jailed for 26 months after returning to UK
Controversial TikToker Ellis Matthews has been jailed for more than two years in Preston.
The 35-year-old ‘mum on the run’ from Bamber Bridge gained notoriety after she fled the UK while pregnant in 2021 and began a new life in South-East Asia.
She became a hit on TikTok after sharing tips on how to claim UK benefits abroad, telling thousands of followers how she was pocketing £2,300 a month while living her ‘dream life’ with her new-born son in Thailand.
But last summer, Matthews’ dream life abroad turned into a living nightmare when she found herself locked up in a filthy Thai prison.
She told her followers on TikTok that she had been arrested by immigration officials after concerns were raised by the country’s social services about her son’s welfare.
Matthews’ visa was cancelled and she was locked up in a detention centre in Bangkok, which she described as “a hell hole prison” teeming with rats and cockroaches.
.png?trim=5,0,355,0&crop=&width=640&quality=65)
After 15 weeks in detention, she was allowed to fly home to the UK, but said she was forced to leave her young son behind with family in Thailand.
Jailed in UK
After returning to Lancashire last June, Matthews was arrested on suspicion of drugs offences. She was charged with supplying cocaine, as well as possession of cocaine and cannabis.
She appeared at Preston Crown Court for sentencing on Friday (March 13), where she was jailed for 26 months.
Matthews was remanded to HMP Styal to begin her sentence (26 months for supplying cocaine and an additional month to be served concurrently for possession).
Miss Recorder Clancy told the court that Matthews had already served 108 days in detention in Thailand, and this would count towards her sentence in the UK.