Police were yesterday forced to take the unusual step of issuing a statement denying rumours that Maxine Carr, the former girlfriend of Soham child killer Ian Huntley, is living in Penryn.

Police said they feared somebody may get hurt as the rumours reached fever pitch and posters even started to appear in car windscreens.

The Packet received dozens of phone calls from readers claiming that Carr had moved into the area. Falmouth police were also innundated with calls.

Police press spokesman Baxter Provan said the force was putting out a statement because they were concerned someone was going to get hurt. "We are going against national policy on this because specific rumours are getting out of hand," he said. "We are happy to quash rumours that Maxine Carr is living in the Falmouth-Penryn area. She is not.

"We are putting out a statement scotching these rumours that Maxine Carr is in the area. She has never been housed in the area. The rumours are an urban myth which have turned into Chinese whispers. We have taken the unusual step of reassuring the local population that Maxine Carr is not living here."

Parents of children at Penryn infants school were said to be particularly concerned after being wrongly told that she was living on their doorstep.

One of the local parents who phoned the Packet this week said: "Everyone is talking about it. We are all very concerned."

If Carr had been living locally the Packet would not have been able to publish anything about local concerns. A High Court injunction forbids the media from revealing anything about her new identity or to give any clue as to where she is living.

Although Carr was involved in the notorious Soham murder trial - which dominated the national news at the time - she was not the main defendant. She lied to police to protect her boyfriend because she believed his claims of innocence. She said she was with Huntley at the time two young girls were murdered but was in fact in Grimsby. She was jailed for perverting the course of justice.

After her release Carr was given a new identity and put under police protection.

A high court judge granted an order prohibiting the media from publishing anything that could wreck her chances of starting a new life.

She has, however, had to stay on the move because her identity has become known within a short time wherever she has set up home.

The High Court took the view that Carr's identity and whereabouts should be kept secret for her safety.

The court order, granted by Mr Justice Eady, was not contested by the media.

Mr Eady said it was necessary to protect "life and limb" as well as Carr's psychological health.

The order bans publication of any details which could reveal her new identity, including any description of where she lives or the nature of her work.

Carr's QC argued that such an order was justified on the grounds laid down in various other high profile cases where similar permanent injunctions were granted.

He said: "There is a real and significant risk of injury or of worse - killing -if this injunction is not granted."