by Keith Hunt

A father went through a marriage ceremony with a complete stranger after being offered a £2,000 payment, a court heard.

Radec Kmec travelled from his Gravesend home to Grimsby, Lincolnshire, for the church "wedding".

The sham marriage went ahead but it was then discovered that the address 31-year-old Kmec had given was false.

Now, the dad-of-two, of St Mark's Avenue, Northfleet, has been jailed for six months after admitting an immigration offence.

The maximum sentence is 14 years.

Jo Cope, prosecuting, said the Vietnamese "bride" should have been in the dock with Kmec, but she had disappeared.

The case was part of an investigation into sham marriages taking place in the Grimsby area, Mrs Cope told Maidstone Crown Court.

Illegal immigrants or failed asylum seekers were assisted by organisers in a marriage of convenience so they could remain in the UK.

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Sham bride couldn't spell future hubby's name

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"They paid a large amount of money to marry somebody from the European Union," she said.

"The process involved the bride and groom attending an initial interview at a church. They would give their details to the Canon. One of them swore an affidavit on the Bible, declaring the details were true.

"The church rules require that one of the couple must have lived within the parish for at least 15 days."

Kmec went to Grimsby Minster in March last year with a woman called Miss Pham, who swore an affidavit giving an address in London.

The groom gave an address in Grimsby. They set the date for the marriage and the ceremony took place.

They signed the register and it was witnessed. Miss Pham then applied to the Home Office to remain in the UK.

But enquiries showed that the address given by Kmec was a medical centre. When arrested in October, he said it did it for the money.

He had arrived in the UK from the Czech Republic in July 2008 to work. His partner Ruzena Kotlarova and their two children followed after a month.

Judge Philip St John-Stevens told Kmec: "Offences such as this undermine the immigration system in this country and, potentially, the security of this country.

"I have agonised and considered this case carefully. This matter is so serious there is no ground to suspend the sentence."