A woman caused a major police inquiry by falsely claiming that she had been kidnapped, raped and stabbed, a court heard.

Bradford Magistrates' Court was told that 800 hours of police time was taken up and more than 100 officers, including an Assistant Chief Constable, were involved in investigating the bogus claims.

Maryam Hussain, 21, admitted wasting police time when she appeared in court.

Prosecutor Malcolm Christy, said Hussain had made a series of hoax 999 calls over a period of three days, the last of which resulted in the massive inquiry.

The court was told that in that call she indicated to the operator that she was deaf and dumb.

Communicating by tapping on the phone, Hussain indicated to the operator that she had been kidnapped, raped and stabbed.

Hussain was eventually arrested when police managed to trace the phone to a house at Silverhill Road, Bradford Moor, Bradford, where she lives with her parents.

Mr Christy said that when arrested Hussain asked: "Is this serious?"

Her solicitor Ray Singh told the court that on previous occasions psychiatrists have said that she has suffered from mental illness.

After the case Detective Inspector Gerry O'Shea, who was involved in the inquiry, said: "This is a very serious example of how hoax calls can lead to a massive waste of police resources.

"False allegations such as this are an insult to genuine victims."