A young woman who cried rape after she willingly took part in a kinky sex session with an older man has been sent to jail.

Kirsty Sowden, 21, told police she had been raped by a stranger at The Warren, in Gravesend, after she left a sports centre.

But she later admitted making the false complaint because she felt guilty about a sado-masochism session she had with a man at his Maidstone home.

An innocent man was first detained by police in Gravesend and then the man she had sex with was arrested in front of work colleagues.

Sowden, of Dene Holm Road, Northfleet, has now been jailed for 14 months after admitting perverting the course of justice.

Judge Philip Statman told the sobbing defendant: "I see little sign of genuine remorse from you or, indeed, any real understanding of just how serious your actions have been.

"Perverting the course of justice undermines justice and justice must be upheld. Rape is a dreadful crime. False allegations of rape undermine the plight of genuine victims."

Maidstone Crown Court heard Sowden, who was working at John Lewis at Bluewater, placed an advert on a "no strings" dating website calling herself a "BDSM princess" - standing for bondage, domination, sado-masochism.

The man, in his 50s, contacted her in March last year and arranged for her to go to his flat and be dominated.

He told how they agreed she would strip off within five seconds of her arrival. They joked that it actually took seven seconds.

The man said they indulged in various sex acts, including intercourse, and he put a collar and lead on her and spanked her.

"Towards the end, she was lying on the bed and she said she did not want to do it any more," he said. "She said her boyfriend would kill her if he found out.

"Also, they were trying for a baby and she felt guilty. She left. The next thing was I was arrested at work. They arrested me in front of everyone."

Kirsty Sowden lied about being attacked at The Warren, Gravesend

The man was held in custody for nearly four hours. He was on bail for several weeks.

Sowden admitted to the court she gave a detailed account to police about being raped.

She said she had been to the gym at Cascades, in Gravesend, and was walking along a path at The Warren when a stranger grabbed her by the left arm.

Sowden described her attacker as being in his 40s and balding.

Catherine Donnelly, prosecuting, told her: "You are not just a liar, you can tell detailed lies when you put your mind to it."

DC Richard Dorey said hundreds of hours and thousands of pounds were put into the investigation.

He said the number of police hours put into the investigation was at least 376 – but probably much more – and the cost was just under £14,000.

DC Dorey said: "The waste of resources put into investigating this claim at a time when cuts are so severe is a huge disservice to the people of Kent, the police and genuine victims of allegations, such as these two innocent men who were arrested and detained in custody unnecessarily.

"The sentence of 14 months in jail is a fair sentence. It should stop people making unfounded allegations and is a very serious sentence for someone so young."