A BIGAMIST who wed his third wife in a lavish ceremony at Highcliffe Castle while still married to his second has been fined.

A court heard that Shane Vallier, of Beechwood Avenue in New Milton, believed he was divorced when he married new wife Karen on August 5 this year.

However, the previous marriage had not been legally dissolved.

Yesterday, 45-year-old Vallier appeared at Bournemouth Magistrates’ Court, where he admitted a charge of bigamy.

Prosecuting, Lee Turner said Vallier was divorced from his first wife in 1997 before marrying his second wife ten years later in 2007.

The couple separated in in 2013 when Vallier was accused of a sexual offence.

The defendant faced a six-month investigation that left his life in “ruins”, the court heard.

No charges were ever brought in relation to the allegation.

The defendant was then told in an email that his second wife was divorcing him.

But the divorce never formally took place.

“No divorce proceedings were initiated by either party,” Mr Turner said.

Robert Renshaw, mitigating, called the case “exceptional”.

“He didn’t receive any paperwork, and that was perhaps when he went wrong,” Mr Renshaw said.

“Then about 18 months ago, he meets Karen and they begin a relationship.

“He quickly discovers that she unhappily has cancer.”

Mrs Vallier’s illness made the pair’s relationship “intense”, the solicitor said.

When asked by a registrar to make a declaration about his previous marriages, Vallier thought, “I may well be divorced, but I don’t know,” Mr Renshaw added.

Vallier, who works in refuse disposal, is still in a relationship with his third wife and the two have no plans to separate, the court heard.

Mrs Vallier is continuing to receive treatment for her illness at Southampton General Hospital, it was said.

Magistrates said there is little existing case law for offences of bigamy.

Vallier was sentenced to a £250 fine.

He will also pay costs of £85 and a victim surcharge of £35.