Mount Kinabalu 'nudist' Eleanor Hawkins blamed for Mt Kinabalu earthquake set for return to UK

A British woman Eleanor Hawkins jailed for stripping on a sacred mountain in Malaysia is set to return home to Britain.

The 23-year-old was among a group of 10 people who took their clothes off before taking pictures at the summit of Mount Kinabalu on 30 May.

The Derbyshire graduate admitted causing a public disturbance along with three others, and was jailed for three days and fined £1,000.

She and her co-accused, Dutch national Dylan Snel, 23, and Canadian siblings Lindsey, 23, and Danielle Peterson, 22, all admitted a charge of "committing an obscene act in public", according to the BBC.

Sabah's Deputy Chief Minister Kitingan blamed the public nudity for causing the 5.9 earthquake as it "showed disrespect to the sacred mountain".

Hawkins admitted she had been "stupid and disrespectful".

Hawkins and her co-accused, Dutch national Dylan Snel, 23, and Canadian siblings Lindsey, 23, and Danielle Peterson, 22, all admitted a charge of "committing an obscene act in public".

Prosecutors said the four tourists, along with six others, climbed the peak to enjoy the sunrise on 30 May and then challenged each other to take off their clothes and pose for photographs.

Prosecutor Jamil Ariffin said the jail sentence would serve as a "deterrent" to others.

He said: "Many Malaysians will have seen the photos and their actions have caused annoyance. We expect them to obey the law and respect our culture.

"Just because we extend our hospitality to them it doesn't give them the right to behave like this."

The aeronautical engineering graduate was handed over to immigration officers at midnight, and said she is "pleased and happy" to be returning to the UK.

Her father Timothy Hawkins said the sentence was "appropriate and fair" but said she had been "treated pretty badly" by the world's media.

"She's obviously very traumatised," he said. "Eleanor knows what she did was wrong and disrespectful and she is deeply sorry for any offence she has caused to the Malaysian people."

He said he had not yet spoken to his daughter and was still waiting for news on when she would be flying back home.

On 5 June an earthquake struck near the mountain killing 18 people, including children, and leaving hundreds more stranded.

Sabah's Kadazan Dusun tribe believe the mountain houses the spirits of their dead ancestors, with the name Kinabalu meaning resting place of the dead.