Eleanor Williams: Hammer injuries 'a staged finale to lies'

A woman accused of lying about being raped by an Asian gang staged a "finale" to her story when she injured herself with a hammer and posted an account on Facebook, a court has heard.

Eleanor Williams, from Barrow, claimed the injuries in May 2020 had been inflicted by her abusers.

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

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

In his closing speech, prosecutor Jonathan Sandiford KC described the defendant as "prepared to tell very significant lies in a variety of different circumstances".

The court previously heard she was found injured near her home and told police she had been taken to a house in Barrow, raped and attacked.

The following day, Ms Williams, who was on bail having already been arrested on suspicion of perverting the course of justice, posted photos of her injuries and an account of being groomed on Facebook.

Mr Sandiford said: "The prosecution say this is the finale - that is how it is intended by the defendant.

"This was the event that was going to show to all the world that she had been victim of trafficking, that she was wrongly accused by police."

The court has heard a hammer, with Ms Williams' blood on it, was found close to where she was seen by police officers.

Pathologist Alison Armour had concluded the defendant had caused the injuries to herself, Mr Sandiford said.

Ms Williams had a fixation on business owner Mohammed Ramzan, who she claims groomed her from the age of 12, the jury was told.

Letters allegedly written by Mr Ramzan, but which a handwriting expert said were likely to have been written by Ms Williams, were found in a box at the foot of her bed, the court has heard.

"What the prosecution say is these documents, the Rammi letters, you may think descend into an element of fantasy about the relationship between the defendant and Mohammed Ramzan and the existence of a son called Bailey who does not and has never existed," Mr Sandiford said.

Ms Williams has alleged that while on a trip to Amsterdam with her sister Lucy and her then boyfriend, Liam Swift, she was taken by Mr Ramzan to work at a brothel and sold at auction.

Mr Sandiford questioned how the defendant had time to be involved in trafficking while working 82 hours a week in three jobs - at a care home, a pub and a nightclub.

The trial was adjourned until Thursday.