AN ENGAGED couple were left devastated when immigration officers swooped on their wedding ceremony and told them they couldn't tie the knot.

Blackburn-born David Rouillon and his fiancée Erika Britt Malone, who is American, had planned to get married at Blackburn Register Office, but the celebration was cancelled by staff from the Home Office.

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Mr Rouillon said the pair had expected Friday to be 'the best day of our lives', but instead they were left in tears.

A spokesman for the Home Office said officials attended the wedding not because they thought it was a sham marriage, but to determine the immigration status of the bride-to-be.

Mr Rouillon, of Leamington Road, said: "I was completely in shock.

"It was meant to be the best day of our lives and we were so excited, but it turned into a nightmare."

The couple met around 18 months ago through online gaming and 24-year-old Mr Rouillon decided to visit Miss Malone, 26, in California to take their relationship further.

After spending a few months in Auburn, in Placer County, the couple got engaged.

Mr Rouillon said: "I flew out on February 14 last year and we had been talking every day.

"I knew there was something special. We love each other and we got engaged."

The groom's father Cliff added: "They got on and connected really well. Erika is David's first proper girlfriend and they got on really well because they are both quite introverted."

Miss Malone took out a holiday visa for three months and arrived in Blackburn to stay with her future husband's family.

The father-of-the-groom added: "One of the reasons they did it was to surprise us because they got engaged in San Francisco.

"When they said they wanted to get married, we ran round to get everything ready."

The wedding date was set five weeks in advance and Miss Malone said she had been excited about the day.

She said: "I was really looking forward to it. I got my make-up done and my hair and nails."

Miss Malone wore a knee-length black dress with flowers in her hair and carried a bouquet of purple and cream blooms.

But when Mr Rouillon and his fiancée were asked to go into a separate room to answer some questions, they realised something was wrong.

The groom's dad said: "All of a sudden, immigration officers jumped out and said there was not going to be a wedding. I was stunned.

"They told my wife Menchu and I to get out of the room. I shouted back because I was really angry. It was just ridiculous.

"Erika brought all of her documentation and the registry office had not said there was any problem.

"It was not a big wedding, but it is better for them to spend money on tickets back to America, rather than on a lavish wedding."

Mr Rouillon said the couple had not been planning to spend much longer in Blackburn, as Miss Malone's visa was due to run out on December 10.

He said: "We were going to spend Christmas together in America and then I was going to come back on my own.

"Erika has been treated like a terrorist and they would not even let me see her."

Miss Malone said she was questioned for around 90 minutes.

She said: "They just came in and told me they could arrest me. It seemed like I was being interrogated for forever.

"I was really scared and at first I was just bawling.

"They said I am a person who has entered the UK by way of verbal deception and they were asking me all kinds of questions like why I was here and all kinds of dates that I could not remember.

"I was panicking. They did not believe that nobody asked me if I was planning to get married."

When Miss Malone was released, she was told she must surrender her passport and go to a reporting centre to get permission to stay.

Mrs Rouillon said her son and would-be daughter-in-law were still planning on tying the knot.

She said: "We love Erika like a daughter.

"This was all just a nightmare, but they are just two youngsters in love and nobody will tell them they cannot get married."

The Lancashire Telegraph understands Miss Malone arrived in the UK without entry clearance as a fiancée, instead relying on entry as a visitor.

If she makes the correct application in the future and it is accepted, she could still marry in the UK at a later date.

A Home Office spokesman said Miss Malone's passport was now with her file and would be sent to the airport once confirmation of her return flight on December 10 was produced today (MON).

He said: "We are building an immigration system that is fair to British citizens and legitimate migrants and tough on those who flout the law.

“Where officials have reason to doubt the legitimacy of a wedding ceremony, or the immigration status of either party involved, they will seek to take appropriate action.”