A WOMAN who admitted making up a rape allegation has been cautioned for wasting police time.
The 20-year-old woman from High Wycombe told officers she was raped in the town in the early hours of Sunday October 17.
But police discovered the incident never happened following an investigation and arrested the woman two days later.
Thames Valley Police then gave the woman a caution.
Det Ch Insp Rebecca Mears said: “Stranger rapes are very rare and all such allegations are taken extremely seriously. They are thoroughly investigated by a large number of specialist police officers and staff so that the rapist can be brought to justice as quickly as possible and the victim is supported throughout.
“All calls to the police are treated as genuine unless proven otherwise but we will not hesitate to prosecute people who make false allegations.
“Not only do false rape allegations cost a great deal of public money, but they result in officers having less time to investigate real crimes.”
