Not everyone expects to meet their maker on their birthday but June Dumas will be expecting the worst when she turns 66 tomorrow.

The retired nurse is unsure whether she will even get out of bed on 6/6/06 as she is certain it is the day her fate will be sealed.

Mrs Dumas, of Old Shoreham Road, Hove, was born at 6am on June 6, 1940, at Brighton General Hospital. As she was growing up her mother always told her to watch herself on June 6, 2006, and Mrs Dumas says the day fills her with a sense of dread.

She said: "I have got a funny feeling it could be my expiry date. I have always thought that 66 would be it. When my mother was alive she told me that on that day I should not get in the car or even go out. But no matter what I do I still think this one will be it for me."

Mrs Dumas is going to enjoy herself the night before and may even have a flutter at the casino, although she says she expects to lose a fortune.

The pensioner said: "My friends are going along with my wishes and we are going on a girly night out before my birthday. I want to go to a place where I feel safe.

"I am widowed and I'm meant to be marrying my partner if I get through the day but I'll have to see what happens. I am superstitious and really quite concerned about it. It's silly really."

The fear of 666 is based on a disputed passage from the Book of Revelation which declares "the number of the beast" to be 666.

Some believers in Armageddon say it will be a day of satanic power that may be marked by a comet hitting the Earth. But the last 6/6/06 in 1906 failed to end in an apocalypse.