Briton Charles Long has been sentenced to 15 days of tending flowers at the Zambian immigration department for overstaying his visa.

The British businessman was arrested in Lusaka where the Zambian magistrate passed the unusual sentence.

"Long will slash (cut) the lawn and tend flowers at the immigration offices and after that he will be deported," Reuters news agency quotes Immigration Department spokesman Mulako Mbangweta as saying.

Long, who said he was in Zambia to pursue business contacts told a privately owned Post newspaper, "I feel nothing, I am happy (because) it is better than being inside prison."