Ah, Remember The Great Old British Russian Eccentric..?

The woman who painted her heritage house pink has told The Argus it was a ‘cry for help’ as the property was restored to white.

Alexandra Capone, 40, sparked uproar when she painted the former lifeboat house on Worthing seafront deep pink back in March.

Speaking to The Argus at the house in Marine Parade the mother, who is subject to an anti-social behaviour order, told how her life had spiralled out of control since moving to England in 1997.

Yes, I’m sure she’d have been perfectly stable in Russia…

On Saturday evening Ms Capone was arrested following what police described as a “disturbance” outside her house. She was accused of breaching her anti-social behaviour order and appeared in custody at Crawley Magistrates’ Court on Monday (August 10).

She has been bailed to appear at Worthing Magistrates’ Court on October 2. Separately, she is accused of stealing items worth £10.17 from a Spar store in Heene Road, Worthing, and is due to appear again at Worthing magistrates’ court on August 18.

The intrepid local reporter ventures down for an actual interview. And it’s worth it.

“I painted my house pink,” she says, dismissing the furore. “Did I kill anybody?”

Today the house is back to white, albeit a bright white that is mismatched in its cream surroundings. And the 40-year-old mother is back living inside – despite reports from a supposed friend that she had gone back to her native Russia.

First, she wants to clear up the matter of her name. It is nothing like that of the late Chicago gangster, despite the inevitable jokes. “It is pronounced Capo-nee,” she says, stressing the ‘nee’ in her distinctive Russian accent. “Not Cap-own. Ale-ks-andrra Capo-nee.”

She was originally Alexandra Salnikova when she arrived from Russia, and Alexandra Woolnough not long after.

Tonight, a friend is helping clear up her spacious home at 107 Marine Parade, the former Worthing lifeboat station she owns. He sweeps beer cans, food remnants and other detritus off the parquet flooring, later breaking into a can of pie for them to share for dinner.

Her dog, who she calls Mr Perky, is not around. “I hide him,” she says, smiling in a way that makes you not quite sure what’s coming next.

“There’s an alligator in the bath upstairs,” her friend points out. “Well, it’s sort of a big lizard, really,” he later adds.

Lovely! Adding to the Brighton area's well deserved reputation for….well…errr….