Sean Connery is the only recognisable voice

SCIENTISTS have reported the first known case of a woman who is unable to recognise any voices apart from one – that of James Bond star Sir Sean Connery.

The British mum, identified in the study by University College London only as KH, struggles to recall even the sound of her own daughter's voice.

Bizarrely, the only voice she can seem to remember properly belongs to the Edinburgh-born James Bond star Sean Connery.

Researchers, who call the condition Phonagnosia, say the 60-year old woman has struggled with the condition since childhood and it was only when she read a report of a similar condition on people not recognising faces that she got in touch with UCL's Dr Brad Duchane.

"Occasionally, people have problems recognising voices following a stroke or brain damage, but this is the first documented case of someone growing up with this condition," he said.

In the study, KH struggled to recognise the voices of famous actors and politicians, and also had difficulty learning and recognising new voices.

A control group of volunteers nearly all identified the voices of Margaret Thatcher, David Beckham, Joanna Lumley, Sean Connery and Ann Widdecombe

KH, however, was only able to identify and pick out Sean Connery's Scots burr.