An English footballer is suing the social networking site Twitter after users identified him as the player who allegedly had an affair with Big Brother’s Imogen Thomas.

The happily married star, who is currently referred to only as CTB in court documents, was identified as having had a 'sexual relationship' with the former reality television contestant.

The legal action is thought to be the first of its kind against Twitter, and documents were filed at London’s High Court on Wednesday.

But English attorneys believe CTB is unlikely to succeed against Twitter because it does not fall within British jurisdiction.

Twitter is not within the jurisdiction of England and Wales, and CTB will have to launch proceedings in California, which are unlikely to succeed.