DUBAI, United Arab Emirates: A Dubai judge has ordered a British couple jailed for three months for engaging in sex on a public beach this summer.

Judge Hamdi Mustafa Abu el-Khair sentenced Michelle Palmer and Vince Acors to three months in jail, a fine of US$350 and deportation from Dubai after serving their sentence.

The two defendants were not in court to hear the verdict their lawyer on Thursday vowed to appeal.

Palmer and Acors were arrested in July and later charged with sex outside marriage, public indecency and drunkenness.