A Spanish couple has been sentenced to prison for breaching a distancing order and reuniting after hitting a troubled patch in their marriage.

A court found the husband and wife guilty of breaching the 2008 order, which forbade them from coming within 500 metres of each other under laws aimed at tackling domestic violence.

But last month, after a trial separation that lasted more than a year, the pair decided to patch things up.

They were arrested when police discovered them together in their home town, although both claimed they were with each other by mutual agreement.