A bitter husband accused his estranged wife of “revenge porn” after lewd photos and videos of him were posted on Twitter, a court heard.

Cindy Dabbs was put through the ordeal of being arrested in front of her children and being held in custody for about 12 hours.

But the truth was revealed when James Dabbs, of Nunnery Grove, Minster, confessed that he had posted the images of him naked and performing a sex act on himself.

The 30-year-old machine operator’s partner wept as a judge jailed him for perverting the course of justice.

Maidstone Crown Court heard there was an acrimonious break-up of the 10-year marriage with the couple accusing each other of harassment.

Mrs Dabbs was upset because she was left in debt and he foiled attempts by her to get in touch with him.

She went onto the social networking site Twitter to try to find him - and was shocked to see the photos and videos.

“She noticed in some of the images it was in the bedroom of their house,” said prosecutor Donna East. “She realised they were taken at a time when they were together.

“She noticed further images she believed were taken at the address of his new partner. She decided to send them to her and a couple of friends.

“Her intention was to show him in his true light.”

But Dabbs, who works for Thames Reinforcements in Sheerness, went to the police on December 30 last year and accused his wife of revenge porn.

Mrs Dabbs was arrested on New Year’s Eve as she was about to go to a family party with her two children.

She told officers the images were already on the site and, therefore, in the public domain.

Dabbs was warned about making such serious allegations but it was not until January 3 that he admitted creating the accounts.

Mrs Dabbs said in a victim statement she was angry and upset when she saw the images. She added it had a devastating effect on her and her children.

Sentencing Dabbs to 20 weeks imprisonment, Mr Justice Stuart-Smith said the allegation would have been serious if true because revenge porn was a growing menace and “rightly regarded as being disgusting and disgraceful behaviour”.

“You knew she would be visited by the police and taken into custody for something she didn’t do,” he said. “She was arrested in humiliating circumstances in front of her two sons to whom you had been a loving stepfather.

“She was taken into custody and her humiliation was complete. Your behaviour was at the expense of someone who was extremely vulnerable because of the break-up in your marriage.”

The judge added: “You are clearly a good worker and normally a good man. It is clear you would not have acted in this way in normal circumstances.

“Higher courts have repeated again and again the seriousness of perverting the course of justice and an immediate custodial sentence is almost inevitable.

“It will be a disaster for you and those who care for you.”