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A newlywed couple managed to get married and jailed on the same day after police stormed their wedding for flouting the coronavirus lockdown rules.

The unnamed couple had just said their 'I dos' when armed police stormed the ceremony which was taking place in front of 53 guests.

Footage taken in South Africa shows armed police storming the wedding and rounding up guests.

The groom, in his suit, and the bride, in her wedding dress, are then put in the back of a police van.

(Image: @MadzengaOld/Twitter)

The officers had stormed the wedding with guns and face masks after a concerned member of public alerted them to it.

The 53 wedding guests who witnessed the ceremony were also arrested, along with the priest, and taken to the eMpangeni police station on Sunday, April 5.

One guest said: "The police and soldiers were armed to the teeth and they stormed the tent where the wedding was taking place and arrested everyone."

(Image: @MadzengaOld/Twitter)

Police were reported as saying the couple spent "their honeymoon under stringent bail conditions”.

It comes as another couple were arrested for breaching the lockdown after getting married 70 miles away in Nkandla on March 28.

Jabulani Zulu, 48, and his wife, Nomthandazo, 38, were arrested but released on a bail of R1,000 (£44.58).

(Image: @orrin417/Twitter)

South Africa has currently got a death toll of 17, with 1,749 people infected.

The weddings have prompted Nkandla mayor Thami Ntuli to remind people of the importance of staying home.

Mayor Ntuli said: “People should know that a national shutdown was not made for specific people, but for all of us.

"The aim behind it is to stop the spread of coronavirus

“This is meant to save lives and we need to stand behind our government irrespective of our political differences.”

“This has nothing to do with politics, so I urge everyone to follow all instructions and stay at home during this national shutdown.”