THREE men stand accused of arranging a sham marriage in order to stay in the UK, a court has heard.

Devine Abanda, Oliver Attie and Armand Djedje are charged with conspiring to arrange the fake wedding in order to apply for leave to remain in the UK.

They were arrested shortly after a civil ceremony at Winchester Registry Office, on February 28, last year.

The court was told how the visa of the potential groom, Cameroonian-national Abanda, was due to expire just days after he and his bride-to-be Olivia Godefroy were arrested.

French-born Godefroy, had arranged the hoax ceremony with the others in a bid to enable Abanda to apply for permanent residency in the UK, the jury was told.

Prosecutor Michael Butt asked the jury to "infer the existence of an agreement" between the accused.

"Abanda had a two year visa issued in order to attend the University of Luton," Mr Butt said.

"He then applied for a post-study worker visa in 2012 until March 6, 2014. His permission to stay was about to expire at the time that this marriage took place.

"That will tell you what the point of this ceremony in Winchester was.

"During the morning of that day a wedding party arrived at the registry office in Winchester.

"The party had effectively travelled down from London the night before and stayed overnight at a hotel at the service station on the M3, begging the question why these Londoners chose to be married in Winchester.

"Ladies and gentlemen, all was not what it appeared in this supposedly happy event in the registry office in Winchester, on that day. The marriage itself was completely illegal from the outset."

The jury was told how the three men stayed overnight at the Days Inn hotel on the Southbound services the previous night.

Before the ceremony they took a taxi and withdrew £2,300 in cash from the Barclays cash machine in Jewry Street.

As previously reported, immigration officers were tipped off and swooped down on the wedding party.

During his opening statement, Mr Butt told the hearing officers found Belgian man Attie, 31, and Djedje, 30, originally from the Ivory Coast, outside in a taxi, looking after the bags.

Within the baggage they found a number of documents including a "crib sheet" giving details of the groom - including his family's background - to the bride.

"It seems that the ceremony was all but complete when immigration officers turned up and arrested Abanda and Miss Godefroy," Mr Butt added.

"Attie and Djedje were not in the building, they were in the taxi.

"They were not dressed for any kind of ceremony or celebration and once the party was inside their job was effectively to mind the baggage."

Mr Butt also said that, during their questioning, each of the three defendants either answered "no comment" or not at all.

The hearing was told 22-year-old Godefroy pleaded guilty during a hearing in March to both conspiracy and bigamy charges.

They were told the wedding to 27-year-old Abanda would have been her second illegal marriage, following an earlier wedding to Diedonna Ateh on January 6, 2014.

The three men have been released on bail.

The trial continues.