Wendy Willson, 62, sparked a probe that cost Norfolk Police £70,000 with a false claim that she was raped by men with Eastern European accents

A woman has been jailed for six months after falsely claiming she was raped, beaten and robbed by two men with Eastern European accents just so she could make a £6,000 insurance claim.

Wendy Willson, 62, sparked an investigation that cost Norfolk Police £70,000 with the claim, which officers now believe she invented purely for financial gain.

They became suspicious when it emerged she had made an insurance claim for £6,000 for items stolen by her 'rapists' that she didn't mention when she reported the rape.

The claim was never paid because of 'inconsistencies in her story' and she was arrested for attempting to pervert the course of justice and fraud in April 2014.

Norfolk Police revealed that 76 officers had worked 2,244 hours on the rape inquiry between December 2013 and May 2014 at an approximate cost of £70,000.

She initially planned to deny the offences and stand trial but changed her plea to guilty at the last-minute, although she never told police why she made up the story.

Detective Superintendent Paul Durham, of 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.'

Norwich Crown Court heard how Willson told police that the men broke in through her conservatory door and forced her into her kitchen where they both raped her.

She claimed that the 'attackers', who spoke with eastern European accents, had threatened her with a knife, hit her with a metal bar and punched her in the head.

Willson made out that the punch had caused her to fall and hit her head on a kitchen unit, knocking her unconscious on December 22, 2013.

Police launched a major inquiry to try and find the attackers who had allegedly burst into her home just three days before Christmas in King's Lynn, Norfolk.

Willson was jailed for six months at Norwich Crown Court (pictured) for perverting the course of justice and fraud. It came to light when she made a £6,000 insurance claim

But officers became suspicious after she later tried to claim £6,000 compensation from her insurers for items stolen which weren't mentioned when she first reported the attack.

Officers from the Norfolk and Suffolk Major Investigation Team conducted detailed inquiries, including comprehensive house-to-house and forensic work.

But detectives began to question Willson's version of events as forensic, witness and financial inquiries progressed.

Willson deliberately fabricated this extremely serious incident for her own personal financial gain Detective Superintendent Paul Durham

Willson, who appeared in the dock with a walking stick, was jailed for five months for perverting the course of justice and another month for the fraud offence at Norwich Crown Court.

Judge Antony Bate told her that the cost of the investigation was not the only impact on the public purse.

He said: 'While officers were investigating your bogus claims they can't be investigating other people's genuine concerns. It diverted them away from much more important lines of inquiry.'

Tomas McGarvey, defending, said Willson has suffered from anxiety and depression. He stressed that she was 'remorseful'.

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.