Judge brands actress' faked kidnapping a 'sorry tale'

Jessica Lind said she invented the story to try to win back her ex. Photo / Telegraph

A theatre actress faked her own kidnapping in a desperate attempt to win back her lover - in a plot similar to the book and film Gone Girl.

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

A 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 Gray to fear for her welfare and "look after her".

When officers found her, the actress claimed a "strange" stalker who "knew" about her relationship with 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."

Hospital doctors examined Lind, of Romsey, 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 a man called John Hodgson, who has mental health problems. He was known to Lind because he also drank in the same Costa coffee chain in Winchester. She claimed he had also approached her in a Costa in Romsey.

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 ($34,470) 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 Gray.

Police were initially alerted by 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 30km 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 to be 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 member, cried as Southampton Crown Court heard details of her lies.

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.