A 16-year-old Albanian who was seeking to reach the UK with just €10 in his pocket was stopped at the last hurdle – the Malta International Airport – and convicted instead for his use of a false document.

The youth received a nine-month jail term suspended for two years after admitting to using a false Italian ID.

The boy, from the County of Dibër in northeast Albania, had travelled to Italy, where a man told him he could bypass UK visa requirements by using an Italian ID card.

An ID card was forged, in the name of a certain Giovanni Paciello, and the boy then decided to travel to the UK via Malta as that was the cheapest option.

He arrived in Malta on Monday, and returned to the airport to board a flight to Luton Airport the following day.

But the youth was stopped at passport control after staff noticed that the picture on the ID he presented – his picture – did not match the details provided. The ID was thus determined to be forged, and the Albanian was arrested and charged with using a false ID.

With the aid of an interpreter, the youth admitted to the charges brought against him, revealing that he spent his short stay in Malta on the streets. He had just €10 to his name, the court was informed.

The charge carries a possible jail term, but the prosecution, led by Inspector Nezren Grixti, insisted that this was not ideal in the youth’s case. He stressed that the youth fully cooperated with the police and had admitted to the charge at the earliest possibility.

The youth’s lawyer, legal aid Cedric Mifsud, also argued against an effective jail term, stating that his client had naively trusted the advice he had been given. He added that a suspended jail term would be ideal as it would close the case locally.

Magistrate Gabriella Vella thus followed suit, deciding to sentence the 16-year-old to a suspended jail term.

The boy will be sent back to Albania.