Merete Underwood, who abandoned her husband and young son during an evening out, panicked when she realised that her one-night stand had resulted in a missing person report to police, Middlesex Guildhall Crown Court was told. The alleged rapist, an interior designer, spent 24 hours in a cell and had the prospect of prosecution hanging over him for three months.

Even after his 32-year-old accuser was charged with perverting the course of justice, she continued to lie for a further year. It was only as the jury was about to be sworn in to try her that she confessed.

Underwood, who is being divorced by her husband, Toby, wept as the judge said that her last-minute plea of guilty and previous good character could not save her from jail. “Rape is an extremely serious offence and quite rightly any allegation of rape is dealt with very seriously by police, as indeed is your allegation,” Recorder Andrew McCooey said.

“I have heard from the prosecution the impact this had on this innocent man, not to mention the many thousands of pounds that has been wasted, all brought about by your pack of lies. And you didn’t have the decency to admit to it and put this man out of his misery,” he added.

Still distressed, Underwood, of Kingston upon Thames, southwest London, was led to the cells.

Earlier, Joanne Hacking, for the prosecution, said that on February 25 last year Underwood, who is Norwegian, and her two-year-old son, met her husband after he had finished work. A few drinks in one pub were followed by more in another. “Then at about 9.30pm she went to the bathroom. A few minutes later her husband, curious as to why she had not returned, asked bar staff to check the toilets,” Ms Hacking said. “There was no sign of her there and no sign of her outside.”

Although worried, Mr Underwood’s priority was their son’s welfare and he took him home. “He eventually went to bed, woke up at 5am and realised his wife was still not home. He was astounded by this and very worried.” He reported her disappearance to the police. Not long afterwards he received a text message from his wife’s phone saying: “Merete is OK, but cries and wants to go home, but not finished with her here. Good fk she.”

Soon after that he received a call from his boss to say that his wife had been found and had been taken to a police station. The court was told that Underwood said that she had been raped and indecently assaulted.

She went on to describe how she had left the pub for a breath of fresh air when a stranger approached, grabbed her by the hair, forced her into a car and then drove her to an hotel room in Bayswater, Central London, where two men allegedly stripped her and took it in turns to have sex with her.

Underwood added that altogether she was held captive for 12 hours. She identified the innocent 34-year-old interior designer as one of the “rapists”. She later confessed to chatting him up in the nearby Beachcombers’ White Wine Bar and admitted she spent the night with him. Not only had three officers been involved in the investigation, but forensic laboratory facilities were tied up, closed-circuit television footage examined and a number of statements taken.

Miss Hacking said that her “unfortunate victim” did everything he could to convince police that he was innocent.

He explained that he had been with a group of friends in the wine bar when Underwood simply walked up to him, began chatting and kissed him on the mouth and held his hand. They left the club and went to an hotel.

Miss Hacking added: “There they shared a can of beer and then went on to have consensual sex. The following morning when they woke up there was further sexual intercourse.”

A couple of hours later they left the room and went to a nearby post office where surveillance cameras picked her up “laughing and smiling and entirely at ease” with her illicit lover.

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