Screen legend Michael Caine says his best friend - 007 actor Sean Connery - is "no longer in control of his senses" and fears he is losing his memory.

In an interview with German newspaper Bild am sonntag Caine said: "One must have serious concerns for him."

Caine's statements have been denied by a spokesperson for Connery, who called the report "ridiculous".

Bild said the loss of his memory is "noticeable" and that only a few close friends and confidantes, like Caine, had access to him.

"Connery forgets his life," was the headline in the paper, Europe's biggest selling Sunday newspaper.

The newspaper said his wife Micheline Roquebrune, 77, was always frightened to pick up the phone when he was out on the streets of Manhattan in case of bad news.

The inference was that he can sometimes not find his way home.

Connery, 83, told a British newspaper two years ago that he had no interest in acting any longer.

German newswebsites and papers were filled with the comments of Caine, 80, to Bild, which were confined to a couple of sentences.

A spokeswoman for Connery denied the newspaper's claims.

"The same article also have Sean living in Spain where you all know he does not live," the spokeswoman said.

"This [article] is truly silly and nonsense. I do not wish to give credence to this ridiculous story," reported the Scotsman.

The last time Connery appeared before the cameras was in 2003 for The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen.

He and Caine became pals during the shooting of the 1975 epic The Man Who Would Be King.

- Daily Mail