A husband went through his wife's paperwork only to discover photographs of her marrying another man.

Yesterday Liton Miah's wife Joli was jailed for three months after she admitted bigamy.

Mrs Miah, 24, moved to England from Bangladesh in 1997 shortly after the couple married in an arranged ceremony. But their relationship ran into difficulties after the birth of their second child and they later met Mujib Ur Rahman, who was in Britain on a six-month visitor's visa.

He returned to his native Pakistan but came back to Southampton the following year and moved in with the couple after Miah persuaded her husband to let him stay. Mr Miah then made the discovery that the pair had married after he found snaps at their home of their ceremony at Southampton Register Office.

After the police interviewed the registrar, Miah admitted she had twice lied to the authorities that she had not been previously married.

Miah, of Northumberland Road, Newtown, was jailed at Southampton Crown Court after admitting bigamy.

David Reid, prosecuting, said she later claimed that under Muslim law she had been divorced by her husband saying Talak to her three times.

The vice-chairman of the Muslim community in Southampton Sheikh Mohammed Tarafdear confirmed Talak was a form of divorce under Islamic law if it was witnessed being said three times by the husband.

The community leaders would have been informed if Talak had taken place but they had not been told.

However, under British law, it would still have been ineffective, said Mr Reid.

The city crown court heard Rahman had been deported after his claim for political asylum was rejected. He had claimed he had fled Afghanistan.

David Jenkins, mitigating, said the defendant's arranged marriage had been unhappy and she wanted to marry for love.

He added: "Historically, bigamy has been regarded as very serious but there are some cases when non-custodial sentences can be passed. She and society would be best served by that.

"Rahman has been sent back to Pakistan and she is settled in this country."

But his plea was rejected by Judge John Boggis QC who spoke of how he had read a "touching" letter from her father which spoke about the shame it had brought on her family.

He said: "But I am firmly of the view that only a custodial sentence is appropriate to mark the seriousness of this offence."

Det Sgt Dan Fussell, who led the investigation, said afterwards: "I have never dealt with an offence like this during my 18-year career."

"I think the court verdict is a justified result."