Fake permit good for eight months

A FATHER who followed his wife to Cambridge from Ghana for the birth of their first child has been jailed for having fake documents.

Ike Agbo had got himself a job with a cleaning company and had hopes of joining the British Army before immigration investigators raided the house where he was living with his wife in the city's Birdwood Road on June 19.

The 31-year-old had bought himself a false resident's permit and National Insurance card - found in the raid - in a bid to work to support his family while staying in the country illegally, Cambridge Crown Court was told.

Agbo admitted two charges of possessing false documents and was sentenced to eight months' imprisonment. The immigration service will decide where his future lies when he is due for release.

Melanie Benn, prosecuting for the Department for Work and Pensions, told the court Agbo had entered the UK on a six-month visitor visa which ran out in June.

Interviewed after his arrest, Agbo said he had bought the false documents for £650 and claimed he had thought they were genuine.

His wife, who gave birth to their son in March, had the required documentation for a two-year stay, but Agbo had failed to get the proper papers before leaving Ghana, explained Catriona Walker, mitigating.

"His intention was to support his family and to go into the Army, where he had applied to join and already undergone a training day," she added.

Jailing him, Judge Gareth Hawkesworth told Agbo: "Those who use false documents to obtain work in this country and overstay their leave here are committing serious offences. It reflects on all others who come to this country, and it is a difficult issue at times when security is paramount."