SHOCKED bosses at a tanning salon have been falsely accused of taking secret explicit photographs of their naked customers.

They have become the victims of a hoax email which claims the salon uses hidden cameras to covertly photograph the women using its sunbeds.

Tantalising, Bellegrove Road, Welling, has seen its takings plummet by two thirds in recent weeks, as angry women boycott the salon.

Owner Karoly Vass, 41, said: "Ours is the largest sunbed shop in the area. This could break our business."

The email contains dozens of revealing pictures of naked women using tanning beds, who are obviously unaware they are being photographed.

It is now being circulated widely to friends and family by angry women who use tanning salons, and who believe the photos are genuine.

Some of them are customers at the Welling shop.

The salon only discovered what was happening when one of its customers rang up and then forwarded a copy of the email.

Mr Vass said: "Three people rang us and told us they thought what we were doing was disgusting."

Shop manager Tony Lavigna, 20, said he had replied to all the addresses on the email explaining the photographs were not taken in the Welling salon.

He said: "We don't even have lie-down beds in our salon and the reception area is nothing like ours."

But the denials haven't stopped the email from being circulated nor encouraged customers back into the salon.

It has now been established the photographs were taken at a salon in the USA, where there were several prosecutions last year.

Mr Lavigna said: "I can understand people being upset.

"It is a terrible thing to happen but these photographs have nothing to do with us."

The salon has now approached Bexleyheath police to see if anything can be done to stop the email from circulating or if any crime has been committed.

Another salon, Tanners in Footscray Road, New Eltham, was also named in the email.

It was targeted in October when takings fell dramatically and staff were horrified to discover the email is now being recirculated.

Tanners' manager Sian White, 21, said Tanners had approached Greenwich police but had been told no crime had been committed and the police could not act.

Mr Lavigna added: "We have no idea why we have been named in this email.

"The two salons are not connected in any way."

He said Tantalising had invited customers to come into the salon and look around for themselves to confirm there are no hidden cameras.

But so far the salon's invitation and its denials are having little effect.

Mr Vass said: "Our business has never been so quiet."