Eleanor Williams: Rape lies destroyed me - Jordan Trengove

A man falsely accused of rape by a serial fantasist says his life was "destroyed" by her allegations.

Jordan Trengove spent 73 days in prison, sharing a cell with a convicted sex offender, after being charged as a result of Eleanor Williams' lies.

He was 18 when he met her on a night out in Barrow, Cumbria, in 2019.

Williams, 22, was jailed for eight-and-a-half years on Tuesday after being found guilty of perverting the course of justice.

Mr Trengove was one of several men Williams framed for rape in a slew of allegations that included being groomed, trafficked and raped by an Asian gang.

She told Cumbria Police he raped her on the night they had met, and then on two subsequent occasions, claiming he attacked her and threatened her with a knife.

Speaking to BBC Radio 5 Live, Mr Trengove said he went through "hell" and had been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) following his ordeal.

"[Prison was] disgusting. To be there when you know you haven't done anything wrong is 100 times worse. I was in there with serious criminals.

"I was put in the sexual offences population. As you can imagine, it's not a nice place to be."

Eleanor Williams claimed a grooming gang attacked her but her injuries were found to be self-inflicted

After being released following a bail hearing, he initially stayed with a friend 50 miles (80km) away in Workington before returning to Barrow.

"It was a relief [to be released]. A weight off my shoulders. But I knew I was going to be coming out to violence and threats because mud sticks.

"I'd had 'rapist' spray-painted on my house and windows smashed. I knew I wasn't going to be welcomed.

"When I got back to Barrow, all I can describe it as is hell. I was getting abuse, looked at, spoken about. I didn't want to leave my house. It was so bad.

"It took several years for people to understand we were innocent."

Hammer injuries

Preston Crown Court heard Williams had made rape claims against men dating back to 2017 with a Facebook post in May 2020 sparking angry protests in Barrow after being shared more than 100,000 times.

Claiming to have been injured by a gang, wounds shown in photographs she posted were actually self-inflicted with a hammer she had bought herself.

Local businessman Mohammed Ramzan was another of those accused of abusing Williams.

She alleged he groomed her from the age of 12 and forced her to work in brothels in Amsterdam.

A third man - Oliver Gardner, who met Williams through a chance encounter in Preston - was accused of being a rapist who had trafficked her and sold her for sex.

Mr Trengove, who lived in Barrow before his arrest but has since moved away, said he suffered from "flashbacks" and intended to take legal action against Cumbria Police.

"I hold them responsible as much as I hold Ellie responsible," he told 5 Live's Adrian Chiles.

"The police didn't make up the lies, but when I was presenting evidence to them they weren't running the checks they should have.

"When I see police it brings back the Ellie stuff. When I'm in Barrow I don't want to be there. I can't physically be in that town.

"[It feels like] I've got to watch over my shoulder, to look down every street to make sure nothing is going to happen because I've had threats.

"It affects my family as well. My grandma is there. She lives near the property where I was arrested. I don't want to return to that area."

The force said it was unable to comment so as "to not taint any future potential proceedings".

The Big Cases: The Lie That Destroyed A Town is available on BBC iPlayer

Asked how he felt in the wake of Williams being jailed, Mr Trengove said he hoped to "rebuild" his life.

"It absolutely destroyed me. When my son was born a year and a half ago at first I didn't want to develop a bond because I didn't want him to grow up with a so-called rapist for a dad.

"When the guilty verdict was delivered [in January] I knew my life was coming back. I do hope I can let it go. I don't want to carry this through my life.

"I want to be able to let my son see me happy. With this hanging over us, I wouldn't be able to do that."

Williams was convicted of eight counts of perverting the course of justice and pleaded guilty to a further count.

In sentencing, Honorary Recorder of Preston Judge Robert Altham said it was "troubling to say the least" that Williams had shown "no significant signs of remorse" for her allegations, which he described as "complete fiction".

He added: "Unless and until the defendant chooses to say why she has told these lies we will not know."

Williams has launched an appeal against her conviction.