An Australian woman has been charged for allegedly gaining A$55,000 (£30,000) from a fundraising website after faking a cancer diagnosis.

Lucy Wieland, 27, used social media to document a fraudulent journey through ovarian cancer treatment, a court in Townsville, Queensland, was told.

Ms Wieland set up a GoFundMe account to appeal for financial help in a breach of public trust, police said.

She was arrested after a tip-off from a member of the public, they added.

Images posted to her Instagram account earlier this year include photos of Ms Wieland with what appears to be medical equipment such as oxygen masks and walking aids.

View this post on Instagram

Happy Friday! 👋🏼❤️ Not much sleep was had last night but I could breath easily and relatively painlessly for the first time all week which was brilliant! So thankful I have this guy to sit on the couch with me while I”™m stuck to machines. Still counts as a Thursday night movie date if it”™s on the couch and we both fall asleep right 🤔😅 #nothankshoevariancancer #thursdaynight #mylove #favourite #thisisus #thisislife #ovariancancer #cancerawarness #copd #youtakemybreathaway #cancer #womenshealth #keepgoing #pma #friyay #newmeds #pleasepray #whatahoe #nohairdontcare #buzzed

A post shared by Lucy (@lu_wieland) on Aug 23, 2018 at 2:40pm PDT

Others appear to show her receiving treatment through intravenous medication or having her hair removed alongside captions documenting her feelings.

"Exhaustion is becoming an issue," reads one post. "As always I'm so grateful for everyone's support," says another.

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Thanks for the love everyone. Special thanks to my @laineyj90 for the visit this morning and as always @congo91 for looking after me so well. 💕 New blog post is up too... go check out our awkward little family photo 🤦🏻”â™€ï¸ðŸ˜‚ https://nothankshoevariancancer.wordpress.com/2018/07/18/what-i-didnt-know-then/ #chemo #ovariancancer #ovc #ca #cancerawareness #ca125 #neutropenia #recovery #nothankshoevariancancer #familyphoto #somuchawkward #dukethedog #beanielife #thankfultobehere #lifeisgood #love #friends #blessed

A post shared by Lucy (@lu_wieland) on Jul 18, 2018 at 2:09am PDT

It is not clear whether her partner, who appears in some of her pictures, was aware of the alleged fraud, or whether Ms Wieland is suffering from other medical conditions.

Queensland Police Detective Inspector Chris Lawson told reporters outside the court on Thursday that the case was "disheartening".

"The real victims here are the people from the community that have heard the stories, have tried to assist," he said.

He said suspicions were raised after members of the public "identified some problems with the story", which led to an investigation, ABC News reported.

Ms Wieland was granted bail but ordered to surrender her passport. She is due to appear in court again in December, ABC added.