THE Princess Di lookalike in a video which duped The Sun newspaper is the girl who pulled in the crowds to Bolton's Crompton Place shopping centre only a fortnight ago.

The video, claiming to show Diana frolicking with James Hewitt at Highgrove was "an elaborate hoax", the Sun admitted today.

The newspaper, which printed stills from the video yesterday, said it had been "conned by cunning fraudsters" and apologised to the couple today.

The girl who appears in the video is Christina Hance, 35, who earns a living appearing as a lookalike. She was at Crompton Place for a Grandparents' Day promotion.

She said today she had been under the impression she had been booked to appear in a comedy video called "Smash and Grab" to be submitted to TV companies. She has not been implicated in the hoax. Today's Sun statement said it was "in the unhappy position of putting its hands up to falling victim to one of the most elaborate hoaxes of the decade.

"We were conned ... into believing that a poor quality film of two people frolicking together were the Princess of Wales and her former lover James Hewitt."

Editor Stuart Higgins said: "I take full responsibility for this mistake and will apologise in writing to both the princess and Mr Hewitt."

Last night, a Daily Mirror statement announced that the tapes were a hoax.

The 80-second tape showed a woman stripping down to sports pants and bra, kissing a man, riding on his back and playfully fighting with pillows.

During the silent, black-and-white recording, the two were pictured embracing and kissing on a sofa.

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