About 250 students carried the train of the two-mile long saree worn by the bride, as she and the groom walked down a main road in the centre of the Kandy.

The National Child Protection Authority (NCPA) said using students for such ceremonies during school hours was against the law, with violators facing up to 10 years in prison.

The saree is the longest ever worn by a bride in Sri Lanka and another 100 students, from the state-owned school, served as flower girls at the wedding.

The students were from a school named after Central Province Chief Minister Sarath Ekanayaka, who was a special guest at the wedding,

‘We have started an investigation. We are going all out because we don’t want this to become a trend,’ said NCPA Chairman Marini de Livera.

‘What they (the wedding party) did is a violation of child rights,’ de Livera said. ‘Depriving children of education, risking their security and harming their dignity are criminal offences.’