The four men and one woman paid up to £2,700 for marriages of convenience after fleeing political upheavals in Sierra Leone.

At Harrow Crown Court Judge Robert Sich said while he had sympathy, their crimes "struck at the whole foundation of the immigration system," and he would recommend their deportation after their release.

The court was told that three had married lap dancer Susan Coates, 30.

She has earned a place in the record books as the country's busiest woman bigamist following seven trips down the aisle in just 14 months.

After all but one of the ceremonies she wrote to the Home Office supporting applications by her "husbands" to stay in the UK.

Three of her spouses have never been caught, while a fourth failed to turn up at court.

Coates attacked after publicity

Coates, of Kilburn, north London, was to have been sentenced, but is currently in hospital awaiting an eye operation after being attacked in the wake of earlier publicity about her clients.

She and her best friend, Alison Morgan, 32, who went through two marriages of convenience, will now be dealt with next year.

The judge said anyone who had read the papers in this case detailing their backgrounds would feel "considerable sympathy for the strain in which all these people were put under".

He added: "But despite that sympathy and despite the very able submissions that had been made to me I have come to the conclusion that these offences do merit a custodial sentence. A deterrent element is necessary in this case."

Case officer Pc Ross Elliston said he had not expected the defendants to be jailed.

He said: "However, the judge, and I go along with him, made it clear that the law of the land must be upheld. These were serious offences and they have been dealt with in a fair way."

Coates 'at centre' of racket

Mark Gadstone, prosecuting, told the court the racket began in June 1995 and lasted until September 1996.

At the centre was Coates, who pleaded guilty to six counts of bigamy, one of conspiracy to commit bigamy and one of conspiracy to defraud the Home Office.

Those she wed are believed to have been introduced to her by a suspected middle man still under investigation.

It was the killing of Wolverhampton drug dealer Patrick Delgar, in January 1996, that helped police crack the racket.

Coates and Morgan were among those arrested during the hunt for the killer. They were later released without charge.

But police had searched Coates' home and found paper bearing the name of her third "father-in-law".

A joint police and immigration inquiry traced her other six marriages.

First husband never found

Coates' first wedding was to a 31-year-old Nigerian who has never been found.

A month later it was Roland Ngegba, who was jailed for eight months after pleading guilty to conspiracy to defraud the Home Office.

Husband number three was Tamba Gbondo, 30, who received a similar sentence after admitting the same offence.

His sister, Sia, who paid £1,500 to Coates, also admitted the conspiracy count and was jailed for six months.

Her last known husband was Osman Kamara who also admitted the conspiracy charge and was jailed for seven months.

The court was told that Coates' friend Morgan married Charles Kamara in October 1995.