A groom who claimed he wanted to return to his native India to tie the knot will now have to postpone any ceremony after being jailed for using a fake passport.

Tejinder Singh – who came to the UK seven years ago on a student visa – claimed he had forked out up to £7,500 for the fraudulent Bulgarian passport.

The 26-year-old builder was caught trying to leave Dover in November, heading for Milan en route to India.

But Judge Heather Norton told him she didn’t believe a word of his wedding story.

She said that as an "overstayer" he could have presented his Indian passport to the authorities and would have been sent straight home.

Singh, who claimed to live in Ilford in East London, was told Canterbury Crown Court regularly deals with similar cases – where judges hear a variety of excuses from people caught breaching immigration rules.

She added: “It is rare in my experience for people to be completely honest ... and you are no exception.

“I don’t believe a word of the story given to me today... it didn’t make any sense.

“There was no need for you to obtain false documents or have to go via Milan to get to India.”

The court heard Sing also had £1,000 in cash in his pockets when he was stopped – and claimed the money was wedding gifts from friends.

Singh, who appeared to be praying before the hearing, admitted having two fake documents and was jailed for 15 months.