Elizabeth Hurley has announced her split from husband Arun Nayar amid claims she has fallen for Australian cricket star Shane Warne.

The British actress announced yesterday (12.12.10) she had called time on her three-year marriage with the Indian textile heir "months ago" after she was reportedly seen kissing the retired sportsman.

She wrote on her twitter page: "Not a great day. For the record, my husband Arun & I separated a few months ago. Our close family & friends were aware of this. (sic)"

The 45-year-old star - who has an eight-year-old son Damian from a previous relationship - is now said to have grown "very close" to Shane in the wake of the breakdown of her marriage.

A source told the Daily Mirror newspaper: "Shane has been a real support through the tough time she's had splitting with Arun. They have grown very close and there is an intimate Bond between them. The only thing standing in their way is geography."

The pair have been exchanging flirty messages on social networking site twitter, with Elizabeth indicating that she may be travelling to his native Australia soon.

Writing on November 28, she said: "IF I get to come to Sydney for Breast Cancer Awareness I'll def do your show & do a botox/mascara check... (sic)"