Real life Gone Girl stages own kidnapping to win back former lover

A major police search used up to 253 hours of police time and cost £15,000

Jessica Lind's faked kidnapping has been likened to the feature film Gone Girl (AP)

An actress faked her own kidnapping in a desperate effort to win back her former boyfriend.

Jessica Lind, from Romsey, Hampshire, concocted a plot - likened to the feature film Gone Girl - in which she was discovered in the back of her car in a rural lay-by after allegedly being kidnapped, the Southern Daily Echo reported.

A major police search was sparked by a text message sent from her phone to her ex-boyfriend Jonathon Gray reading: “Let the games begin – find Jess”.

The 22-year-old insisted twice she had been kidnapped and hit over the head during a three-hour long stint of police questioning.

She alleged a man had approached her in a coffee shop, which led to the arrest of an innocent man called John Hodgson, The Telegraph reported.

He was held for some hours in police custody before being released and no action was taken against him.

The search ultimately used up 253 hours of police time and cost £15,000 in tax payers’ money.

Lind later confessed at Southampton Crown Court she had sent the message herself and driven herself into the lay-by because she wanted Mr Gray to fear for her welfare and “look after her”.

Lind admitted to constructing the entire course of events in September 2014 because she “wanted Johnny back in my life” and thought “he would be able to look after me because he thought someone was going to hurt me.”

The court heard the break-up caused Lind to suffer from mental health problems including depression, suicidal thoughts and a borderline personality disorder. Her father is also reported to have died since the pair parted ways.

Lind confessed at Southampton Crown Court she had sent the message herself Google Maps (Google Maps)

Lind, a Romsey Amateur Operatic and Dramatic Society member, admitted to perverting the course of justice, however Judge Nicholas Rowland sentenced her for wasting police time only.

Judge Rowland said: "You became extremely depressed and suicidal which led you to behave in a way that was out of character, which had consequences not just for you and your boyfriend but the wider public.

"People who do that expect to go to prison. It's a close shave for you."

Lind has been sentenced to a four month prison term, suspended for two years and will undertake 120 hours of unpaid work.