EXPLICIT photographs taken secretly of unsuspecting women using tanning beds, are being circulated in a hoax email.

The email claims the photos were taken by hidden cameras at a New Eltham tanning salon.

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

In fact, the pictures were taken at a salon in the USA and have no connection with the Tanners salon in Footscray Road.

This is the second time in two months Tanners has been targeted by the hoax email, but, despite its denials, customer numbers at the salon have more than halved since the email resurfaced last week.

Manager Sian White, 21, said: "We have lost a hell of a lot of business over this.

"We had just begun to recover from the first time this email was circulated."

Angry women who use tanning beds are circulating the pictures to each other, believing them to be genuine and warning their friends and family not to use the salon.

Miss White said: "We have tried to convince people the photographs bear no resemblance to our salon but people just say photos can be changed digitally."

She added: "Customers have called us to say they have recognised themselves from the pictures and one angry man came in claiming he had recognised his girlfriend.

"But that is impossible because we know the photos were taken in California."

The salon approached Eltham police when the email first began circulating in October to see if anything could be done to stop it.

But the salon was told the police could take no action as no crime had been committed.

Miss White, who has worked at the salon for three years, added: "We have searched the salon thoroughly to make sure there are no hidden cameras.

"And we have invited people to come in and have a look for themselves to see it is not our salon in the photos and there are no hidden cameras here."

But despite the invitation she said people still believed the salon was guilty.

She said: "Staff are being abused all day by people who believe the email is genuine."

This time round, the email also implicated a second salon, Tantalising in Bellegrove Road, Welling, which does not even have the lie-down beds featured in the photographs.

Its takings have also plummeted, despite the salon contacting every address on the email to deny the allegation.

Bosses there have taken the email to Bexleyheath police to see if anything can be done.

The two salons have no connection with each other and have no idea why they have been targeted in this way.