She was given suspended sentence at Southampton Crown Court

An actress faked her own kidnapping in a desperate attempt to win back her ex-boyfriend that was similar to the plot of hit film Gone Girl.

Spurned Jessica Lind, 22, was found apparently 'dazed and confused' in the back of her own car in a Hampshire lay-by following a major police search sparked by a text message sent to ex-boyfriend Jonathan Gray.

The search resulted in the innocent John Hodgson being arrested and detained for 15 hours.

Jessica Lind, 22, pictured left, admitted faking her own kidnapping and in an effort to win back ex-boyfriend Jonathan Gray, pictured right, after the couple broke up

Southampton Crown Court heard the chilling message, sent from her phone, read: 'Let the games begin - find Jess.'

It appeared to have been sent by kidnappers holding her against her will, but Lind later admitted she sent it herself because she wanted Mr Gray to fear for her welfare and 'look after her'.

When officers found her, the pretty actress claimed a 'strange' stalker who 'knew' about her relationship with Mr Gray approached her in two chains of Costa coffee

She claimed there were 'suspicious calls' to her mobile phone and told police she had no idea how she ended up in the lay-by because someone hit her over the head, before kidnapping her.

There was also a handwritten note on the windscreen of her car, saying: 'He'll come back to you, don't worry.'

It was a scenario reminiscent of mass hit book and film Gone Girl, although in this case Lind was trying to win her lover back, not ruin his life as the character Amy Dunne tries to do to husband Nick in the Gillian Flynn novel.

Hospital doctors examined Lind, of Romsey, Hampshire, and said she was not seriously injured but she twice repeated her claims of being kidnapped by a stalker in a three hour interview with police.

Police became suspicious after launching a major investigation which resulted in the arrest of Mr Hodgson, who has mental health problems.

Lind, left, told the court she wanted Mr Gray, pictured right, to fear for her welfare and 'look after her'

Lind even sent Mr Gray a text message which read: 'Let the games begin - find Jess'

Ben Affleck and Rosamund Pike as Nick and Amy Dunne in the hit film Gone Girl (file picture)

He was known to Lind because he also drank in the same Costa coffee cafe in Winchester, Hampshire. She claimed he had also approached her in a Costa in Romsey.

The investigation into Lind's 'kidnapping' lasted 253 hours and cost £15,000 in taxpayers' money

Mr Hodgson was held for 15 hours on suspicion of stalking and kidnap before being released, and the total investigation lasted 253 hours, costing £15,000 in taxpayers' money.

Yet the dramatic plot was nothing more than a web of lies dreamed up by the actress in September last year, following her break up with Mr Gray.

The court heard his arrest meant he 'lost his liberty'.

Police were initially alerted by Mr Gray's friend Jacob Hughes, who was concerned for Lind's welfare after he heard about the text messages.

She eventually came clean and admitted making up the whole story because she 'wanted Johnny back in her life'. The judge branded the case a 'sorry tale'.

Lind confessed to officers she drove herself to the lay-by in Soberton, Hants, over 20 miles from her home, and then wrote the messages.

She said in an interview: 'I just want Johnny back in my life and thought he would be able there to look after me because he thought someone was going to hurt me.

'It got worse and worse and I didn't know how to end it.'

Lind, a Romsey Amateur Operatic and Dramatic Society (RAODS) member, cried as Southampton Crown Court heard details of her lies.

She starred in a number of their plays including an adaptation of Shakespeare's Taming of the Shrew where she played Lucentio and Jane in an version of Charlotte Bronte's novel Jane Eyre.

Lind admitted perverting the course of justice but Judge Nicholas Rowland sentenced her for wasting police time instead, following recommendations from another judge.

She was given a four month prison term, suspended for two years, and ordered to do 120 hours of unpaid work.

Lind's actions also led to the arrest of John Hodgson, an innocent man who was detained for 15 hours

Southampton Crown Court (pictured) heard Lind claim she was being stalked by a strange man

Judge Rowland said: 'You became extremely depressed and suicidal which led you to behave in a way that was out of character which had consequences not just for you and your boyfriend but the wider public.

'He [Mr Hodgson] was held for 15 hours and his freedom taken away as a result of what you did while 250 hours of police time was wasted when they had better things to do.

'People who do that expect to go to prison. It's a close shave for you.'