Warne and Hurley having 'alleged' affair

Shane Warne is reported to be having an affair with British model Liz Hurley, who says she's separated from her husband.

The sheikh of tweak flew out of Australia last week in the midst of a concerted campaign for him to return to the beleaguered national team during the current Ashes series.

But the News of the World reported the former legspinner had other things on his mind.

The Sunday newspaper said that after touching down in England on Wednesday for interviews for his TV show, Warne spent two nights with the actress in a London hotel.

The reports included video on the newspaper's website and a grainy photo of the pair kissing on its front page.

"They were so passionate they looked like honeymooners. It was electric," the newspaper quoted a witness as saying.

Under a larger story headlined "Warne's Legover", the tabloid went into extensive detail about the affair and the pair's movements last week.

The newspaper said the relationship had been building on Twitter since they first met at Goodwood racecourse in West Sussex in late July.

The reports included a number of increasingly flirtatious messages sent between them in the past five months.

The paper said Hurley referred to Warne as "Angel" and "favourite Australian" during their exchanges.

The latest revelations of Warne's womanising ways could mean the end of his on-again, off-again relationship with the mother of his three children, Simone Callahan.

A Twitter message from Hurley says: "For the record, my husband Arun and I separated a few months ago. Our close family and friends were aware of this."

-AAP