"Two British backpackers could face up to five years in a Brazilian jail over an alleged holiday insurance scam.
Shanti Andrews and Rebecca Turner, both 23-year-old law graduates, were arrested on Sunday and accused by police in Rio de Janeiro of fraudulently claiming they had been robbed.
They allegedly reported stolen items worth £1,300, including a laptop, a camera and an iPod. When police investigated, the items were found stashed in lockers in their hostel.
Offiicers were suspicious because the pair had waited several days to report the theft, according to the Evening Standard.
Andrews' mother, Simone Headley, said the pair were "traumatised" and appealed for "fairness and leniency" from the legal authorities in Brazil.
Speaking outside the family home in Frant, near Tunbridge Wells, Kent, Headley said: "I spoke to her on Monday and she seems devastated. She is absolutely traumatised, they both are.
"There has been a misunderstanding. Shanti and Rebecca are two hardworking young girls, never been in trouble."
The two graduates had been due to return to the UK on Monday. Headley said: "This unfortunate incident came along at the end of their nine-month journey around the world. We hope the Brazilian justice system will see it as a misunderstanding and the girls will be able to come home safely"
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