Ashley Cole in 'second sex text scandal'

Ashley Cole sent sex texts and X-rated pictures of himself to a blonde secretary in late 2008, a report has claimed today.

According to The Sun, the England footballer enjoyed racy SMS exchanges with the woman, who is not being named, while his wife Cheryl Cole was busy with her first year as an X Factor judge.

The latest allegations follow reports that X-rated snaps of Ashley were sent to a topless model last summer. Last week, the sportsman insisted that the pictures had been sent by another man after he gave away a mobile he had been using while "between phones" without deleting private photos.

However, today's report alleges that the unnamed secretary was sent "virtually identical" pictures from the same unregistered pay-as-you-go phone nine months earlier. It is claimed that the Chelsea star also received explicit shots of his text companion during the exchanges.

The Sun says that messages sent to the secretary included one which read: "I beg u keep this between us x." Another allegedly said: "Please delete all texts ill have no balls left."

It is not the first scandal to hit the Coles' marriage. In early 2008, Ashley was accused of cheating on Cheryl with hairdresser Aimee Walton. The couple later managed to get their relationship back on track.