IT is shocking to find that fake marriages have taken place in East Lancashire.

Yesterday a Czech national holding EU Citizenship and the Nigerian man she wed so he could stay in the UK were jailed.

He had paid £3,000 to an unidentified person who arranged the wedding at St Peter’s Church in Accrington.

Police fear this may just be the tip of the iceberg.

They already have five other ongoing investigations into suspected bogus marriages.

And it is thought that organised crime gangs are behind the scam.

The judge took a hardline stance at court yesterday and sent the pair to jail for a total of 29 months.

He even sent the bogus bride to prison, despite her being seven-months pregnant.

The sentences handed down were needed to send out a strong message to others.

But beyond that, if police’s fears are true, then vicars and church officials in the area need to be on guard for fraudsters.

They must be vigilant and report anything suspicious.

That is the only way that the authorities will find out how many incidents there have been.

Illegal immigrants cannot be allowed to use churches to scam their way into holding UK citizenship.