Sharon Hamilton, 54, alleged that her neighbour, Anton Barkhuysen, 72, had done “unspeakable” things to her animals.

The slander was apparently part of a row between the pair over Hamilton’s fencing-off of part of the common in their Cornish hamlet.

The allegations led to Barkhuysen’s arrest and months of criminal investigation, at the end of which her claims were disproven.

The High Court in London has ordered Hamilton to pay Barkhuysen a total of £32,080 for slander, false imprisonment and harassment.

However, the court has yet to make a ruling on costs - and Hamilton could be left with a legal bill of more than £230,000 if judges decide she should bear the burden of the case, The Times reports.