Prison for illegal immigrant amid wedding dream

An illegal immigrant in Fife, due to be married last week, had to cancel the wedding after being caught by police.

Oleksandr Vhobvskyi was driving in Lochgelly and was stopped by police who discovered he was using a fake driving licence, bought on the internet.

The 24-year-old, of Drum Road, Kelty, also refused to take a breath-test, having been suspected of drink-driving at the time.

When he appeared from custody, Dunfermline Sheriff Court was told Vhobvskyi had bought the Romanian driving licence on the internet.

Defence solicitor Stephen Morrison said his client was engaged to be married to a Latvian woman living in Fife, having met her online when he was still in the Ukraine.

He said: “She is here legally and is at college. He made an application to the UK for a visa to come here but it was refused.

“He then travelled here illegally and has been in Fife for two years living with his fiancee.”

The wedding was set for last week but Vhobvskyi was arrested by then.

Vhobvskyi previously admitted that on January 27 at Park Street, Lochgelly, he stated to police officers that he was Alexandru Radu and attempted to pervert the course of justice.

He also admitted he drove without a licence and without insurance and that on January 28 at Dunfermline police station, he failed to provide breath specimens for testing.

The sheriff said he was concerned about Vhobvskyi driving with a Romanian licence in someone else’s name.

“Whether it was in pursuit of true love, we don’t know. He does not know what will happen to him deportationwise,” said Mr Morrison.

Sheriff Alastair Brown jailed Vhobvskyi for eight months and banned him from driving for a year.