Eastleigh woman jailed at Southampton Crown Court for false allegations

Carly Buckingham-Smith sent herself abusive and threatening text messages.

One of them read: “I am going to tie you up and slit your throat and watch you bleed.”

The 38-year-old cleaner, of Copper Close in Eastleigh, made 11 witness statements to police concerning the texts.

• Woman 'made up false claim that a man came to her house and attacked her

However, following a trial at Southampton Crown Court in April, a jury found her guilty of two counts of perverting the course of justice.

During her sentencing at the same court yesterday, Judge Nicholas Rowland recounted some of the details of the case, including how Buckingham-Smith made three false complaints about “intimidating behaviour” from "Asian males".

• Jury sent to deliberate verdict of woman accused of making false allegations

He added that she had shown injuries to the police which “must have been self-inflicted to support the false allegations”.

Carly Buckingham-Smith outside Southampton Crown Court in April.

The court heard how she had also previously made an accusation against an Uber taxi driver who was interviewed by police and then released.

Buckingham-Smith had claimed the harassment had been “linked” to this driver.

Judge Rowland criticised her actions calling her campaign “nasty”, adding that a “great deal” of police time had been wasted.

Alarms and cameras had even been fitted at her property by police to catch those she claimed were harassing her.

• Woman accused of making up 'fictitious reports' had phones seized by police

Judge Rowland said that police spent 69 hours investigating the defendant’s “fabricated and spurious allegations" and a further 500 surrounding her own criminal case.

He slammed her for using scarce police safeguarding resources in connection with the offences which happened between May and October 2019.

Police installed CCTV at Buckingham-Smith's home in Copper Close, Eastleigh.

Defending, Ms Keeley Harvey said: “There must be something in her mental health that lead to this.”

She submitted her client would struggle in prison and be at risk of bullying, adding: “This is a lady who is determined not to be in a similar position again.”

Judge Rowland didn’t accept that any mental disorder played a part in her offending.

He jailed Buckingham-Smith for six-months.