Cleared: Joanne Mjadzelics, the ex-girlfriend of Ian Watkins was found not guilty of child porn charges

The ex-girlfriend of paedophile rock star Ian Watkins blasted police for ignoring her repeat warnings about the star, as she was cleared of a string of child pornography charges.

Joanna Mjadzelics said she 'went through hell' after she was forced to take action herself because officers 'couldn't be a***d' to investigate Watkins.

She had been accused of possessing indecent images of a child, sending vile pictures to the singer and demanding that he send her illegal pornography.

But following a trial at Cardiff Crown Court, a jury found the 39-year-old not guilty on all charges after she claimed she was trying to entrap her former lover and trick him into revealing his crimes.

'It's been me against the world, really,' she said as she walked free from court.

'Me protecting the kids when everyone else called me liar, psycho - everything else - lie after lie.

'Let's just see how many kids could have been saved if the police had done their job. I've nothing to say to the police. This was a vicious prosecution.'

Watkins, 37, is currently serving a 35-year prison sentence for sex offences including the attempted rape of a fan's baby. Two women were jailed alongside him for assisting his crimes.

Ms Mjadzelics, from Doncaster, told the jury during her trial that she reported Watkins to the police, but they ignored her because she was a prostitute who was regarded as a 'nut job'.

She insisted that she only engaged in lurid sexual conversations with the shamed star in a bid to collect evidence which would bring Watkins to justice.

The prosecution had claimed that she was obsessed with the singer, and would do anything to fuel his desires.

'He had told me what to say,' she told Channel 4 News after she was cleared.

'He said talk about this, talk about that, tell me you're going to kidnap children and I would just agree. At that point I was so totally in love with this guy but at the same time so confused.

'I realised afterwards when I stopped taking cocaine and I sobered up, I realised afterwards everything that had been talked about and I thought no that's wrong, that's wrong.

'I thought it was just coke talk. I thought that's all it was. I thought that was just coke talking and I was just saying that to get him off.

'Sounds really pathetic when I say it now but it was at the time to keep him interested. It sounds really ridiculous.'

The jury took 14 hours of deliberations to reach their not guilty verdict.

Ms Mjadzelics wept when judge Eleri Rees told her she was free to go, and said afterwards: 'I shouldn't have even been here - just for doing the the police's job that they couldn't be a***d to do.'

Her solicitor Dale Harris said: 'This was a spiteful prosecution of a woman who, over a four-year period, single-handedly and doggedly pursued a campaign to force the sleeping authorities to wake up to the reality of the appalling crimes against children she feared Ian Watkins was committing.

'In December 2008, Ms Mjadzelics first reported Watkins to both South Wales Police and to social services.

'But instead of taking her claims seriously, the police rejected them and dismissed her allegations as those of a disguntled ex-partner with mental health issues.

'The initial flawed inquiry infected every subsequent report she made to the police.'

Vigilante: The 39-year-old insisted she was only trying to gather evidence about the crimes of Watkins, left

Vindicated: Ms Mjadzelics said after her acquittal that the police had been 'vicious' in their treatment of her

He drew attention to the 'actions and inactions' of the police and other authorities, saying: 'As the court heard, in private, the police thanked her for bringing Watkins and his accomplices to justice.

'In public, however, they shunned her and, instead, they prosecuted for the efforts she made to ensnare him.

Ms Mjadzelics told Channel 4 News 'He had told me what to say.'

She said: 'He said talk about this, talk about that, tell me you're going to kidnap children and I would just agree. At that point I was so totally in love with this guy but at the same time so confused.'

'It will be for others to judge whether children could have been spared the horrific abuse to which they were undoubtedly subjected had the police taken seriously the concerns of Miss Mjadzelics some six years ago.'

The defendant said during her trial that she had risked jail to expose Watkins, and continued to sleep with him in order to gather more evidence for the police.

The court heard that she reported Watkins to the authorities in 2008, 2009, 2011 and 2012 to raise the alarm over his child sex crimes.

She told police he had sent her images of a 'very young girl being raped', but they refused to examine her phone or computer.

Michael Wolkind QC, defending, told jurors that police chose not to investigate the allegations against Watkins because he was a famous musician.

'Babies could have been saved if Joanne had been taken seriously but Watkins was a famous rock star so it was different,' he said.

'She wasn't believed and it wasn't properly investigated. What was she supposed to do?

'If she had not kept on seeing Watkins would he and the two mothers be locked up now? No. She desperately played along with Watkins to track him.'

Jailed: Watkins, the former lead singer of Lostprophets, is serving a 35-year prison sentence for child abuse

Ms Mjadzelics even wrote to Watkins' mother warning her that her son was a paedophile, but ended up being accused of harassing his family and questioned by police in 2009.

When the pair next met in 2010, at a hotel in Leeds, Watkins opened his laptop and showed her a video of a 'child crying and being raped' while he had an 'evil smirk' on his face, the court was told.

She then decided she would have to trap the singer on her own and gather evidence against him.

She said: 'We contacted each other again in May 2011 and by that time I had decided it was no good crying and sending him away anymore.

'I had to basically change the game and change my reaction and play him. I went into escort mode, like with my clients, and I switched off.'

'HOW MANY KIDS COULD HAVE BEEN SAVED?' MS MJADZELICS CLAIMS POLICE REPEATEDLY IGNORED HER ATTEMPTS TO REPORT THE LOSTPROPHET SINGER In January 2009 Ms Mjadzelics first contacted police about Watkins after he tells her about sex sessions with underage girls, rape and shows her indecent pictures - nothing happens. In March 2009 she is interviewed by police but she claims the investigation was closed by May after she was dismissed by police as a 'nut.' In August 2010 she goes to police after Watkins shows her a video of a child being abused - nothing was done. In May 2011 Mjadzelics sends an email to the Association of Chief Police Officers about Watkins. March 2012 she takes her laptop to the police station after becoming concerned about an online chat with the singer. Advertisement

The court was read a series of graphic and disturbing messages exchanged by the pair that month, in which they fantasised about kidnapping and raping infants, while Watkins sent Ms Mjadzelics four pornographic images of children.

Despite having apparently been praised by the police for her actions, Ms Mjadzelics was arrested two years ago, and charged shortly after Watkins and his two accomplices pleaded guilty and were jailed in December 2013.

The Crown Prosecution Service defended the decision to pursue the case against Mjadzelics, while South Wales Police described the investigation as 'extremely challenging and complex'.

Catrin Attwell of the CPS said: 'The full circumstances surrounding this case have been aired in court.

'The jury considered the matter for a considerable period of time and found Joanne Mjadzelics not guilty of the possession and distribution of indecent images of children. We of course respect that decision.

'Our role is to consider the evidence gathered by police investigations and decide whether there is a realistic prospect of a conviction in court.'

Deputy Chief Constable Matt Jukes added: 'Operation Globe is still continuing and we will work tirelessly to identify victims and help them seek the justice they deserve.

'During the trial, police actions prior to the most recent investigation were discussed. In 2012 South Wales Police initiated its own review into the sequence of events prior to the arrest of Ian Watkins.

'We identified that there were issues of concern and voluntarily referred the matter to the Independent Police Complaints Commission who is currently carrying out an investigation into these issues.'

The IPCC is investigating claims that officers from three different police forces failed to act on information about Watkins' crimes.