Mum's car 'torched' after defending daughter's grooming gang rape lies

31 March 2023 , 11:57

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Allison Johnston said she had referred the matter to police after her car burst into flames

A car owned by the family of false rape accuser Eleanor Williams has been destroyed in a suspected arson attack.

The Range Rover Evoque burst into flames only a few seconds after Williams' mum Allison Johnston got behind the wheel.

Williams, 22, was jailed for eight-and-a-half years for perverting justice after claiming she had been groomed by an Asian sex gang.

She falsely claimed four men raped, abused and trafficked her.

Ms Johnston, 51, got into the car on Wednesday morning before the car suddenly began to smoke. She ran out of the vehicle before it became engulfed in flames.

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The mum had been inside the car when it began smoking, with it setting on fire moments later (North News & Pictures Ltd northnews.co.uk)

Her daughter is accused of pocketing £22,000 from sympathetic locals after she made her claims.

Allison told The Sun: "It's terrifying to think someone might want to do me and my family harm.

"That's definitely my fear, that someone did this on purpose to cause me harm.

“I have been told it could have been deliberate and I assume it was torched.

Eleanor Williams, 22, of Barrow-in-Furness, was found guilty of eight counts at Preston Crown Court

The former Labour Councillor said it was "possible" that the damage could have been caused by an electrical fault, but she has referred the matter to Cumbria Police.

Her daughter was jailed earlier this month for her devastating accusations that drove three men to attempt suicide.

Ms Johnston said her daughter was "just trying to get people to listen to her."

After sentencing, she told Sky News: "[I'm] heartbroken.

Ms Johnston said it was 'terrifying to think someone might want to do me and my family harm' (LBC)

"I can’t describe it. I still can’t take it in really. It just doesn’t feel real. The person the press are portraying is not the person I know."

She accepted that Williams had lied, but sister Lucy she believed someone was behind the injuries her sibling received in May 2020.

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The images were shared more than 100,000 times on Facebook and sparked furious demonstrations in her home town of Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, and led to former English Defence League founder Tommy Robinson visiting the town to "investigate" the claims.

Benjamin Lynch