An 18-year-old Briton convicted of having sex with an underage 17-year-old British girl in Dubai has handed himself in to authorities there to begin a one-year jail sentence, a charity says.

Marcus Fakana, of Tottenham, north London, began a secretive romance in September with another Londoner, who is now 18, while both were on holiday with their families.

After returning home and seeing pictures and chats between the pair, the girl’s mother reported the relationship to Dubai police, who arrested Fakana at his hotel. Sex with someone under 18 is illegal in Dubai.

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office said it was supporting a British man in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).