Rumours of a con artist tricking her way into people's homes may be a hoax.

Residents in Eastbourne have received warnings from Neighbourhood Watch co-ordinators about a woman who gains permission to use the phone, claiming her car has broken down.

She pretends to call her husband and waits before speaking to him to arrange to be picked up. What the victim does not know is the woman is calling her own premium rate line.

Calls can be charged at £5 to £10 per minute, landing the resident with a huge phone bill.

But David Smith, of Eastbourne police, said the story had been circulated without concrete evidence of it ever taking place. He said: "There is some doubt over its authenticity."