A man who was found in possession of a fake passport at Stansted Airport has been jailed for 12 months.

Hassan Rahimlou, 35, of Len Freeman Place, Fulham, pleaded guilty to possession of false identity documents with intent at Chelmsford Crown Court on Tuesday, and was sentenced on the day.

The passport has been forfeited and will be destroyed.

On April 28, Rahimlou was stopped by Eastern Region Special Operations Unit (ERSOU) officers within the airport at around 10.40am.

He was detained and searched and was found to be in possession of a Belgian identification card. The card had his photograph on it but included a false name.

While under caution he told officers that he made the fake identification and was arrested. A forgery officer confirmed that the identification was counterfeit.

Inspector Lee Devall, of Stansted Airport policing team, said: "Rahimlou was detained and searched by our colleagues at ERSOU, resulting in the discovery of a fake document.

"He admitted creating the counterfeit identification card in an attempt to try and fool airports into believing he was a Belgian national.

"Rahimlou clearly intended to use this document as part of his travels from the UK to Europe and back. Any travel plans of his have now been put on hold with his prison sentence."

Ian Wakefield, eastern region senior border policing officer, said: "This is an excellent example of policing at the UK border, with enforcement partners working together to identify those who seek to evade lawful controls."