A JUDGE said he was troubled Eleanor Williams had showed no remorse as he jailed her for eight and a half years.

The 22-year-old defendant stood impassively in the dock at Preston Crown Court as she was sentenced, saying 'thank you' to the judge as he settled her fate.

The court heard during the two-day sentencing hearing that Williams continued to insist her claims of being beaten, raped and trafficked were true.

In his sentencing remarks, His Honour Robert Altham, the honorary recorder of Preston, said: "It is troubling to say the least that she shows no significant sign of remorse, even continuing to profess the truth of her allegations.

"The only flicker of appreciation of what she has done came today with a brief note read by her counsel regretting the effect of her post on May 20 2020.

"There is no explanation for why the defendant would commit these offences.

"She's gone to extraordinary lengths to create false accusations, including causing herself significant injury.

"No explanation for this behaviour is apparent.

"However, that does not mean that I should speculate unless, and until the defendant chooses to say why she has told these lies, we will not know."

The judge said he agree with the evidence of a prosecution commissoned psychiatric report there was no evidence of a complex post-traumatic stress disorder.

Addressing the impact of her claims, he said Williams should have anticipated the effect of her Facebook post in May 2020.

He said: "She cannot be held wholly or directly responsible for the criminal behaviour of others who used her allegations as an excuse for their own inexcusable conduct.

"But it was foreseeable that others would behave in anti-social and unacceptable ways.

"It was not forseeable that her cause would be taken up by those outside Barrow and develop to the extent that it did."

The judge said there was a  'risk' that genuine victims 'will as a result of this defendant's actions feel deterred from reporting it' but said: "I'm sure that those charged with investigating such offences will do all in their power to avoid any reluctance to investigate such allegations."

The judge said he had reduced the sentence to eight and a half years to take into account for Williams' age during the offences.