Police have warned people not to waste their time after a 12-year-old Bradford girl falsely claimed she had been abducted.

Half a dozen detectives spent three days investigating the girl's claims before she finally admitted she had made them up.

Officers devoted hours to a number of inquiries into the girl's allegations, including trawling through CCTV tapes, interviewing potential witnesses and speaking at length to the girl herself.

Now Bradford North CID have cautioned her for wasting police time over the made- up story.

The girl contacted police late on Sunday night claiming she had been walking in Allerton earlier that evening when she was dragged into a car by a man. She alleged the man pushed her on to the back seat, locked all the doors and drove her to a factory complex where they met two other men.

The girl said she tried to escape but was stopped by one of the men. She claimed she was then driven away and dropped off in the south of the city.

Police launched an immediate investigation, involving officers from Bradford North and Bradford South CID.

The girl gave them an extensive description of the three suspects and the vehicle she said she had been forced into.

But after intensive police inquiries the 12-year-old finally admitted her allegation was false during a further interview with detectives.

Detective Inspector Gerry O'Shea, of Bradford North CID, said officers had spent a considerable amount of time on the inquiry and had taken it very seriously.

He said: "There seems to be no specific reason why the girl made up the allegation. Considerable efforts were made to investigate her claims.

"Had it been genuine it would have been a very nasty incident and we were determined to get to the bottom of it.

"At least half a dozen officers wasted many hours investigating a crime that never happened when they could have been dealing with real incidents.

"Computer technology and other resources were used which could have been utilised for genuine inquiries and a considerable amount of time was spent in dealing with the girl as a vulnerable victim."

DI O'Shea added: "We would never want to deter genuine victims from coming forward. They will always be treated with courtesy and professionalism.

"But anyone considering trying to pull the wool over our eyes, for whatever reason, should think again because we are very experienced in investigating crimes and will soon discover whether one actually occurred or not."