Bigamist Emily Horne faces justice on Monday after a visit to a West Midlands chemists resulted in her arrest, the Express & Star can reveal.

The 30-year-old fled from police when it was disclosed that she wed for the fifth time without getting divorced first – just like she had done several times previously.

Her life on the run was halted three months later when a forged prescription was handed to staff at the Lloyds Pharmacy in Kingswinford High Street.

Horne – at that time still using Baker, the surname of the latest in her long line of former husbands – was given the required medication but checks at the chemists quickly revealed that it was a fake and police were called.

She was arrested on suspicion of fraud by false representation outside Boots, another shop in the area with a pharmacy, by officers two days later, on November 21 last year.

Horne was taken away for questioning, and police computer checks revealed that she was wanted for bigamy by police in Oldham where she had last been seen on August 25 when interviewed under caution and bailed pending further inquiries.

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It was the end of an amazing marriage-go-round that had started 12 years earlier when she tied the knot with old schoolfriend and soldier Paul Rigby in December 1996.

Late last year, five days after first meeting window fitter Wayne Harper, aged 29, she began living at his family’s home in The Portway, Kingswinford.

Despite the fact that his new girlfriend was found to be a serial bigamist, with five failed marriages behind her by the age of 30, Mr Harper decided to stand by Horne after she revealed the secrets of her tangled love life.

His family were equally forgiving and have loyally supported her ever since.

She recalled: “I told him that I had a past that would make him run but he accepted that everybody has a past.

“He is more than my boyfriend. He is my best friend and rock.”

The couple, who have no plans to marry, met while both were patients at New Cross Hospital, Wolverhampton. She was recovering from minor surgery, and he was being treated after a cycling accident.

Wayne recalled: “My face was all swollen, and she asked me what I had done.

“We just got talking, and it went from there. She told me she had nowhere to stay when she got out of hospital, so she moved in with me and my family.

“Everybody deserves a chance to turn their life around.

“I believe she will stay with me, and I will support her if she goes to prison.”

Long list of husbands and weddings is revealed

Husband 1: Paul Rigby – married on December 20, 1996 in York Register Office soon after her 18th birthday. She recalled: “It was classic teenage rebellion taken to the extreme. It was done purely to annoy my father.” They parted within weeks but never divorced.

Husband 2: Sean Cunningham – married at Leeds Register Office in February 1999. The union lasted a matter of weeks before she fell for Simon Thorpe who had given her away at her second wedding. They got engaged but never wed. Ironically Horne confessed later: “He is the only man I should ever have married.”

Husband 3: Chris Barrett – married her in December 2000 at Leeds Register Office. Horne explained: “It was purely to get back at Simon. Chris was a pawn in our battle.” They split up six weeks later after she told him the truth. He went to police who cautioned Horne for the two offences of bigamy committed with marriages No 2 and No 3.

Husband 4: James Matthews – married at Ipswich Register Office in March 2002. He went to the police after she left him to move in with one of his friends, Ross Beech, and she received a six month jail sentence for bigamy after appearing at Ipswich Crown Court in January 2004.

Husband 5: Ashley Baker – She supposedly met Mr Baker while working at a massage parlour in May 2007 and they married the following September at Chadderton near Oldham. The tempestuous relationship lasted 10 months and she was reported to police again. She admitted bigamy at Manchester Crown Court last month and was remanded on bail for pre sentence reports until Monday

By John Scott