A 62 year old King’s Lynn woman has been jailed for six months after falsely claiming she was hit with a metal bar and punched in the head before being raped by two men who broke into her home.

Wendy Willson claimed she was the victim of a violent attack in her Spenser Road home just days before Christmas in 2013.

The investigation cost around £70,000 and involved 76 officers working on the case for five months.

Detective Superintendent Paul Durham, from the Norfolk and Suffolk Major Investigation Team, said: “Willson deliberately fabricated this extremely serious incident for her own personal financial gain.

“It diverted resources at a very demanding time for the police, but far more importantly, I believe she has done a real disservice to genuine victims of similar types of crime and to the community as a whole.

“Furthermore, she claimed the offence had been committed by two men who spoke with eastern European accents, which had the potential to cause community tensions.”

Officers carried out comprehensive house-to-house and forensic work but as witness and financial enquiries progressed, officers began to question her version of events.

Initially, she had not reported anything stolen or damaged but was subsequently found to have attempted to claim more than £6,000 from her insurers but it was never paid due to inconsistencies in her story.

In April 2014 Willson was arrested and later charged with perverting the course of justice in relation to the false allegations and fraud.

Willson was due to stand trial at Norwich Crown Court on February 10 after denying both offences at an earlier hearing, however changed her plea to guilty.

Today (May 4) at Norwich Crown Court she was jailed for five months for perverting the course of justice and a further month for the fraud offence.

The court heard previously that on Sunday 22 December 2013, Willson told police she had been at her home when two men, who spoke with eastern European accents, broke into the house by forcing a conservatory door before forcing her into the kitchen where she was raped by both men.

Willson said she had been threatened with a knife, hit with a metal bar and punched in the head which caused her to fall, hitting her head on a unit, knocking her unconscious.

Willson never offered an explanation in police interview for making the false allegations.

Det Supt Durham added: “This was an isolated and extreme case and victims of rape and sexual assault can continue to be confident in reporting incidents to police.

“I believe this case demonstrates how seriously we take such cases and that officers will carry out comprehensive enquiries to bring offenders to justice.”