A Bradford bride and her husband have been jailed for staging a sham marriage to dodge strict immigration rules.

The bride’s mother was also given a suspended prison sentence for helping the couple, after acting as a witness at the wedding ceremony which took place in a Lancashire church.

A UK Border Agency (UKBA) investigation led to the arrest of Czech national Martina Demeterova, 27, of Thorold House, Fairhaven Green, Idle, who was jailed for 15 months at Burnley Crown Court.

She had married Nigerian Saheed Adelaja Bello, 35, of Abbey Hey Lane, Manchester, in a sham ceremony in February, 2009. He was jailed for 21 months after admitting to offences of immigration fraud and perjury.

The marriage had been arranged to give him legal status to remain in the UK.

The bogus bride’s mother Kveta Demeterova, 47, who lives with her daughter in Bradford, was given a suspended sentence of 12 months, for her role in the wedding.

The two women, who are both in the UK legally, had pleaded guilty at a previous hearing to assisting unlawful immigration and perjury.

A spokesman for UKBA said sham marriages typically occur when a non-European national marries someone from the European economic area, including the UK, as a means of trying to gain long-term residency and the right to work and claim benefits.

After the case Immigration Minister Damian Green said: “Illegal immigration is big business. At home and abroad, we are tackling highly-organised crime groups who make their living by trying to exploit the immigration system and breach our border security.

“Some of these hide people in lorries in an attempt to cross our borders illegally, some provide them with fake identity documents, others set up bogus colleges or arrange sham marriages. Worst of all – some force women and children to work in the sex industry.

“This month, the UK Border Agency is carrying out an intense period of activity to go after these organised crime groups to put the ringleaders before the courts and shut off the supply of illegal immigrants at its source.”

Dave Magrath, head of the UK Border Agency immigration crime team in the North West, warned investigations were continuing to catch other people involved in sham weddings.

He said: “These sentences send out a clear message to anyone thinking of taking part in this kind of criminal activity.

“We have specialist teams of immigration officers and police working to investigate cases just like this to ensure people are not able to benefit from breaking the UK’s immigration laws.

“Whether you take part in the marriage or arrange for others to stage fake weddings we are determined to track down those involved and bring them to justice.”