EIGHT illegal immigrants arrested at the MediaCity building site in Salford have been jailed.

The group of Africans had been working as labourers at the Salford Quays project.

They were charged with using false documents, thought to be passports, which they used to deceive their employer.

Each was sentenced at Manchester Crown Court to six months in prison. They will then be deported.

The men were arrested this month during a UK Border Agency operation carried out with the co-operation of Connolly Construction, which employed the men.

The firm will face no further action.

The group consisted of one Gambian, four Ethiopians and three Eritreans.

They are: Abdulie Maki Mbye, 48, of Horstead Walk, Levenshulme; Alemseged Gebremeskel, 49, of Tyldesley Street, Moss Side; Seifu Wondeyohannes, 28, of Waterloo Road, Cheetham Hill; Abdoo Rashid Shuukuur, 33, of St George's Court, Hulme; Johnson Ogbazghi, 38, of Romney Street, Salford; and Bahta Haile, 43, Zelalem Asebha, 23, and Elias Fithamik, 28, all of no fixed address.

Eddy Montgomery, of the UK Border Agency, said: "Foreign nationals must obey the laws of this country in the same way as everybody else, and those who have committed criminal offences here are therefore subject to the same legal processes as anyone else."

Brendan O'Connell, from Connolly Construction, said: "We co-operated fully with the investigation which we felt we were obliged to do."

Developers Peel Media say MediaCity will be the country's first purpose-built centre for creative industries.

The BBC will be the main tenant, with five departments moving from the capital, including Radio Five Live and BBC Sport.