A homeless 16-year-old Albanian trying to get to England with just €10 in his pocket and a tampered Italian identity card was yesterday given a suspended jail term.

The teenager, who cannot be named because of his age, was caught at passport control on Tuesday after he tried to use the identity card that belonged to someone else but carried his picture.

Police Inspector Nezren Grixti told the court that the teenager said he had gone to Italy for a holiday and decided to go to the UK when he met a Moroccan man who offered to help him. The man gave him the fake ID card and advised him to catch a flight to the UK from Malta because it was cheaper.

The police recommended a suspended sentence on the basis that the teenager had fully cooperated in the investigation, admitted at an early stage and was a minor.

His arguments were echoed by legal aid lawyer Cedric Mifsud.

After taking into consideration the circumstances of the case, Magistrate Gabriella Vella handed down a nine-month jail term suspended for two years.