A wannabe model and Labour hopeful who posed for photographs with Ed Miliband has been jailed over a plot with her mother to con festival-goers out of more than £120,000.

Fantasist Charmaine Bowers, 23, who was described by a judge as a 'female Walter Mitty', tricked more than 300 people into handing over cash for bogus tickets to the Tomorrowland Music Festival in Belgium.

Bowers, who claimed on Facebook she had appeared in Nuts magazine and earned £8,000 per month modelling for Dior and MAC cosmetics, then used the money to buy televisions and jewellery, as well as pay for cruise holidays.

Wannabe model and Labour hopeful Charmaine Bowers, 23, pictured here with party leader Ed Miliband and John Prescott's son David (left), has been jailed over a plot to con festival-goers out of more than £120,000

She had been due to stand in Thursday's local elections, hoping to represent the Gainsborough North ward in Lincolnshire and had been introduced to Labour leader Ed Miliband by parliamentary candidate David Prescott, the son of former deputy prime minister John, last month.

However, she has now been suspended by the Labour party after admitting six counts of fraud by false representation along with her mother, Tina Bowers, 51.

The younger woman, who suffers from bipolar disorder, was sentenced to two years and three months in prison, while her mother was handed a suspended sentence and ordered to carry out community work.

Bowers, 23, (pictured in modelling shots) was described by a judge as a 'female Walter Mitty' after she tricked more than 300 people into buying bogus tickets to the Tomorrowland Music Festival in Belgium

Sentencing Bowers at Plymouth Crown Court, Judge Jeremy Griggs described Bowers as living a 'fantasy life', and likened her to writer James Thurber's fictional fantasist Walter Mitty.

He said: 'A female Walter Mitty? Many Walter Mittys appear before the court suffering bipolar condition, but they still face custodial terms.'

Andrew Maitland, prosecuting, said the mother and daughter, who came from Tavistock but now live in Grimsby, Lincolnshire, were involved in the 'sophisticated' fraud between December 2012 and July 2013.

'This was a carefully constructed fraud in which she presented herself in this glamorous life,' he said.

Bowers claimed on Facebook she had appeared in Nuts magazine and earned £8,000 per month modelling for Dior and MAC cosmetics

Bowers (pictured) has now been suspended by the Labour party after admitting six counts of fraud by false representation along with her mother, Tina Bowers, 51

Mr Maitland said records seized by detectives found there were at least 311 people who paid up-front for a unique entrance wristband and confirmation slip for the festival, which is the largest electronic music festival in the world. Victims included soldiers who had recently returned from Afghanistan.

The money had initially gone into her mother's account, before another one was set up for Bowers. Mr Maitland said bank records revealed there were funds 'to the tune of £71,620 coming to the defendants'.

Investigators also found Tina Bowers used her employer's office computer and printer in Tavistock to print off 'skilfully created' bar-coded confirmation slips for ticket buyers, which had been created on her daughter's laptop.

In total, victims handed over £121,280, Mr Maitland said.

The court was told Bowers (pictured) created a fake Facebook profile for a bogus 'friend', Emily Stevens, and in a 'totally dishonest fabrication', claimed she had been approached by Emily to help sell the tickets

However, pressure on the duo grew when the tickets did not appear and they started to receive threats.

Mr Maitland said a 'huge number of excuses were made' and in response to threats the pair went to Tavistock police where a 'tearful' Bowers claimed people were falsely accusing she and her mother of fraud.

The court was told Bowers then created a fake Facebook profile for a bogus 'friend', Emily Stevens, and in a 'totally dishonest fabrication', told her customers that she had been approached by Emily to help sell the tickets.

'The creation of the Emily Stevens persona was a deliberate invention to create reality to this facade she was presenting,' said Mr Maitland.

Police described Bowers as a 'complete fantasist' who had made 'honest people believe that she was a Nuts model and a model scout'

'Throughout her interview she tearfully denied all liability as did her mother.'

Tina Bowers even claimed during police interview her daughter's modelling career began after she and a friend had sent in their pictures to Nuts magazine and were voted 'third best bum in England'.

Michael Green, mitigating, said Bowers was living with bipolar disorder, but accepted there had been no formal diagnosis at the time of the fraud.

He said she was now taking medication to stabilise the disorder, which he said could present itself as mood instability, erratic behaviour, heavy spending, grandiose thinking alternating with low feelings.

However, Judge Griggs said: 'She was in control of her faculties to set up a rather sophisticated fraud'.

He told Bowers she had played a 'leading role' and 'maintained your fantasy land during interview with police' in an attempt to divert the investigation.

Tina Bowers was told she had 'facilitated' the fraud and was sentenced her to 29 weeks, suspended for two years. She was ordered to complete 150 hours unpaid work.

Speaking after the hearing, Detective Constable Glenn Harrop said the victims mainly came from the Burnley, St Helen's and Plymouth area with each losing up to £500 each.

'Charmaine Bowers has been dishonest and devious to her victims and also to police throughout the investigation,' he said.

'She was a complete fantasist that made honest people believe that she was a Nuts model and a model scout building her 'Walter Mitty' persona using social media to carry out her crime.

'She has never worked but having defrauded victims of their money has managed to spend £70,000 in four months on living the good life which had included holidays to Denmark and Rome, cruise holidays for her parents, as well as TVs, computers and mobile phones, jewellery and clothes.

'The victims were mostly aged 18 to 30 with little disposable income. Other victims have included veteran servicemen just back from Afghanistan on leave.'

Det Con Harrop said Tina was 'happy to make life easier by illegal gains from Charmaine's lies, ignoring the hard facts that her daughter never had any legitimate modelling contracts'.