A Pakistani national living in Bristol has been jailed for a year for using false documents to open bank accounts.

Bristol Crown Court heard that Muhammad Khan, 29, entered the UK on a student visa in 2007 and studied in London and Oxford before moving to Bristol.

He moved into a house in Ridgeway Road, Fishponds, in May 2008 and obtained a fake passport in the name of Saeed Bhatti.

In November the same year he signed two electoral roll forms from Bristol City Council in his own name but each stated that a man named Saeed Bhatti lived at the address.

No such person lived there and the false information was supplied to the electoral services department.

Khan is the first person to be prosecuted for the offence of giving false information for the electoral roll and was given a three-month sentence for this alone.

He had also asked Bristol Water to send bills in the name Saeed Bhatti.

With the fake passport and utility bill he opened bank accounts with Barclays and HBOS but the fraud was spotted and police were alerted.

When police searched his home and car they found documents in the name Bhatti and a wallet containing a Capital One Visa card in the name Bhatti which Khan had applied for online.

William Hunter, prosecuting, told the court: "It's clear that the speed with which the police acted meant that there was no usage of the accounts and no loss to companies."

Khan pleaded guilty to possessing false identification documents with intent, fraud, possessing articles for use in fraud and giving false information for the electoral roll. He was sentenced to 12 months in jail for each of the first three and three months for giving false information for the electoral roll which will run concurrently. He was told he will serve half that less the 109 days he has already been in custody.

Kareena Maciel, defending, said Khan had opened bank accounts in false names because he believed his wife was about to divorce him and he was trying to hide his money from her.

She said he studied business administration in London and a post-graduate human resources course in Oxford.

He had also made an application to the Home Office for further leave to remain in the UK. The Home Office will now be informed of the conviction and he is likely to be deported if the request is turned down.

Detective Constable Mark Probert of the UK Border Agency was in court to see Khan being sentenced. He said afterwards: "This conviction demonstrates the close working relationship and co-operation we have with other agencies such as Bristol City Council."

A spokesman for Bristol City Council said: "We'll continue to work with the police and the UK Border Agency to ensure that anyone giving false information for the electoral register will be prosecuted."