Girl, 14, fears 21,000 party guests after Facebook invite blunder

Rebecca Javeleau, 14, mistakenly made the details public when inviting friends to the event, creating an internet sensation that led to thousands of RSVPs from strangers.

Her mother, Tracey Livesey, 40, cancelled the October 7 event, but police have been forced to step up patrols in the girl's street in Harpenden amid fears some Facebook users will turn up, causing chaos.

The girl, a pupil at Sir John Lawes School, had meant to invite only 15 friends to her 15th birthday party, but within hours of appearing online the event escalated out of control as her mistake was subjected to online ridicule.

At one stage, 21,000 Facebook users had clicked the RSVP button signalling they would attend the party, including fake celebrity accounts in the name of Justin Bieber, Professor Stephen Hawking, Stevie Wonder, Susan Boyle and Rick Astley.

Miss Livesey said: "Her party is cancelled and she will be lucky to get a birthday card from me after this. I said she could have 15 friends along to the party but my sister-in-law said that 8,000 people had said on Facebook that they were coming.

"She did not realise that she was creating a public event and should have done. She is going to have to change her mobile phone SIM card because of the number of calls she has been getting about it.

"Rebecca did not understand the privacy settings and she has lost her internet as a result of that - I've taken away her computer so she won't make that mistake again."

Miss Livesey, who works for social services dealing with adults with learning difficulties, also has a younger daughter Kazia, aged 11 years. She is separated from her children's father, Duane Javeleau.

The blunder raises fresh concerns about Facebook amid criticism that its privacy settings are too complicated, although the website said its 'event' settings were separate and public postings were "clearly" indicated.

Miss Livesey said: "They should make it obvious that an event that is created is not just going out to your friends but everyone else on the site. When this happened Facebook should have realised that thousands of people going to a 14-year-old's party is not right and shut the group down automatically."

"The police have contacted Facebook but we have had no contact from them, which is a bit disappointing. There should be guidelines and the privacy settings should be changed."

"I have been concerned about people showing up anyway. Even if one per cent arrive it is going to be chaos."

Although the posting was removed, other groups were established inviting people along to a pre-party, after-party, clear-up party and ‘hang-over’ party and her photograph also was circulated online.

There are fears thousands could still turn up in the town, which has a population of 30,000.

Sergeant Lewis Ducket of Hertfordshire Police said: “We are aware of this and have been assured that the event is no longer taking place.

"I would urge people who may be planning to come to Harpenden for the party to make other plans. We will have officers on patrol in the area on October 7 to provide a reassuring presence and who will be able to deal with any issues, should they arise.”

In February, a family's home was "trashed" after their teenage daughter advertised a party on Facebook, which was gatecrashed by dozens of adults.

Rachel Ross, 15, "advertised" a small party for friends on Facebook but more than 50 people arrived and caused havoc at the home in Merseyside.

Furniture was smashed, drunk revellers urinated on children's beds and some ceremonial swords used for decoration were ripped down and embedded in a wall. The damage was estimated at around £15,000.

In 2008, an Australian teenager who hosted a party attended by 500 guests was arrested by police who were alerted by furious neighbours in a suburb of Melbourne.

Corey Delaney, 16, decided to throw a party while his parents were on holiday and posted an invitation on his MySpace page.

A spokesman for Facebook said the settings for 'events' on the site were separate from the issue of profile privacy settings.

The spokesman said: "When someone creates an event on Facebook it clearly says 'anyone can view and rsvp (public event)'. If you leave this checked then it is a public event so anyone can view the content and respond.

"If users do see content on Facebook that they feel is inappropriate or unsuitable We have clear reporting links on every page, including event pages, for users to flag it. We also provide people with the tools to manage their own content so with events for example, there are clear tools to allow you to control who can see and respond to the event.

"Helping children to use the internet safely must be a partnership between service providers, parents and teachers. We have a lot of resources on our Safety Centre including separate sections for teenagers and parents, to help people use Facebook responsibly and we encourage people to use these.

"Facebook also works with law enforcement where appropriate, and has set up a 24-hour helpline for the police to contact us if needed."