A WOMAN who had sex with two soldiers then falsely accused them of attempted rape has been jailed for two-and-a-half years.

Bournemouth Crown Court heard Nicole Richess, 20, had met the pair at nightclub Taboo on a night out on November 9, 2012. She was 18 years old at the time.

Prosecutor Fern Russell said Richess had consensual sex with the soldiers at the house of a friend - Laura Hillwood - in the latter's son's bedroom. Ms Hillwood later interrupted them and demanded they leave.

They then returned to the defendant's home and more consensual sexual activity took place. The following morning she drove them to Blandford Camp.

The court heard that when rumours of the encounter reached her boyfriend she claimed the men, who are now aged 23 and 24, had attempted to rape her in an attempt to dissuade him from leaving her.

She said they had grabbed her and tried to force her to bend down in an attempt to have sex with her, but that she was able to escape when Ms Hillwood walked in.

Urging her boyfriend to accompany her to the police station to 'report the offence' she sent a text message saying: "I love you too much to lie to you. I swear down I'm not lying any more."

In another she wrote: "I am trying my best here. It has taken me a long time to finally say the truth, why can't you come and help me."

She told police she had come forward as she "didn't want it to happen to anyone else".

But her deception was exposed when police identified inconsistencies in her account, made in a tearful 65 minute video interview.

The prosecutor said the case had wasted 296 hours of police time at a cost of nearly £10,000.

Passing sentence this morning, March 26, Judge Jonathan Fuller said: "You are a manipulative, lying lady whose ability and determination to mislead is simply breathtaking."

He said her actions, motivated by "self-interest", had a "corrosive" effect on the justice system as they had an "insidious" effect on public confidence in genuine claims.

"The impact on your victims can't be overstated," he added, saying the two men were "entirely innocent".

The judge praised the police investigation as the soldiers "were, thankfully, informed seven days after their arrest that they were not going to be charged".

The court heard the two soldiers had been confronted with the allegations in front of their comrades, and had missed out on important deployments as a result of the two-year-long case.

In a victim impact statement read to the court one described himself as "petrified" by the accusations. Both said they had had difficulty explaining the case to family and friends.

Richess, of Helyar Road, had admitted one count of perverting the course of justice by making a false allegation, on the first day of her trial last month.

In mitigation, Tony Ventham said his client, who is seven months pregnant and suffers from depression, had been "immature and stupid" and had expressed remorse for her "selfish" actions.

He said she had been drinking and had taken cocaine on the night in question - a night which didn't "bring much credit to anyone".

He said that after the former Bournemouth and Poole College student told her family and her then-boyfriend of three years about the lies they put pressure on her to tell police, but the judge rejected this.

"She will never be back in front of the court again," said Mr Ventham.

"She has clearly grown up a lot since.

"She hopes to return to working in care in the community."

Richess, who has no previous convictions, will start her sentence in a young offenders institution.