A wellness blogger who faked cancer and claimed she had cured herself with a natural diet and lifestyle is now facing legal action from an Australian consumer watchdog.

Belle Gibson rose to fame after purporting to have beaten brain cancer by keeping a healthy diet and using supplements despite being told her case was terminal and she had only months to live.

She gained thousands of followers online and launched a successful app and book off the back of her claims - but later admitted it was all a lie in a series of bombshell interviews.

The disgraced blogger is now facing court action from Consumer Affairs Victoria.

The watchdog announced it has applied for leave from Australia's federal court to take action against Gibson and her company Inkerman Road Nominees, according to 9News in Australia.

A statement quoted by the news group said the alleged legal breaches included false claims by Ms Gibson over her alleged terminal brain cancer and treatment.

It is also looking to bring action over unsubstantiated claims that part of Ms Gibson's proceeds from her book were donated to charity.

Ms Gibson said she had not told the truth in a series of confused interviews.

"None of it's true," she told Women's Weekly magazine. It reported: "She says she is passionate about avoiding gluten, dairy and coffee, but doesn't really understand how cancer works."

She later insisted that she was not a pathological but had herself been misled by two men who wrongly diagnosed her with the terminal disease.

Publisher Penguin Australia, which released Ms Gibson's book The Whole Pantry, has agreed to pay a fine of AUS$30,000 ( £15,230) for failing to fact-check Ms Gibson's claims.