Vernon Poppleton, 33, fathered the child seven years ago but when the Child Support Agency (CSA) called on him for payments in 2011 he sent his brother, Victor to supply a DNA sample with his passport photos.

The pair’s plan was exposed, however, after the mother saw the photos. Mr Poppleton, from Glasgow, was handed a community payback order at the city’s sheriff court for committing fraud by attempting to get immunity from making the payments.

Sheriff Lindsay Wood told Mr Poppleton he had narrowly avoided imprisonment, saying: “What you did here and what you got your brother to do was so wrong on so many levels.

“Not only have you distressed your then wife, you have also distressed the mother of your daughter and done a complete disservice to your daughter.

“You were doing this so that your wife didn’t find out. This is a conniving act on your part, to present someone else’s DNA – but you were found out and rightly so.”

Neil Kilcoyne, defending, said Mr Poppleton is paying the money owed to the CSA.

Victor’s not guilty plea to assisting in the fraud was accepted at a previous hearing.