Barrow: Eleanor Williams tells court she did not harm herself with hammer

Prosecutors told Preston Crown Court that Ms Williams had bought a hammer from Tesco and injured herself

A woman accused of falsely claiming she was raped by an Asian grooming gang has told a court she is "not a psychopath" and did not hurt herself with a hammer.

Eleanor Williams, from Barrow, shared pictures of her injuries on Facebook in May 2020 claiming they had been inflicted by her abusers.

However, prosecutors told Preston Crown Court that Ms Williams had bought a hammer from Tesco and injured herself.

The 22-year-old denies eight counts of perverting the course of justice.

Cross-examining the defendant on Monday, Jonathan Sandiford KC, prosecuting, asked her about a hammer which she bought in Tesco on 11 May 2020.

The prosecution alleges the hammer was used by Ms Williams to injure herself when she claimed she was attacked by her abusers.

Ms Williams told the court: "I wouldn't buy a hammer to hurt myself, I'm not a psychopath."

Police found Ms Williams bleeding and bruised on 19 May 2020.

She said she had been taken to a house where she had sex with three men and had then been assaulted, jurors heard.

A hammer with her blood on it was later found in a field near where officers had found her injured.

Mr Sandiford said: "What's your explanation as to why that hammer, in that state, was found a few metres from where police located you?"

She replied: "I can't explain that."

'Final resort'

When Mr Sandiford suggested the defendant had injured herself, she said: "No, I hadn't."

The court heard Ms Williams was taken to hospital and on 20 May posted pictures of her injuries on Facebook along with an account of being trafficked.

She accepted part of the post, in which she said she had previously suffered a bleed on the brain, was a lie.

But she denied she had been "telling lies" on the social media site and said it was her "final resort".

'Pack of lies'

She said: "At this time I'd had enough, I didn't care about consequences, I didn't care about embarrassment, I just wanted what was happening to stop."

She added: "I wanted people to know what was going on in Barrow, still is going on."

Mr Sandiford suggested Ms Williams had told a "pack of lies" to the police and to the jury.

She replied: "No."

Ms Williams also denied using an old Snapchat account to message her new account, creating the impression she was receiving messages from traffickers and a fellow victim.

Mr Sandiford said: "You were desperately staging events to try and make good your false claims that you were a victim of trafficking."

She said: "No I wasn't."

The trial continues.