The owner of a New York brownstone made famous by Sex in the City has erected a gate to keep tourists off the steps leading to her front door.

For years, Barbara Lorber had put up with fans of the hit TV series posing for photographs on the steps of her Greenwich Village property which supposedly led to Carrie Bradshaw’s Manhattan apartment.

The three-storey house in Perry Street, which Ms Lorber has owned since 1978, was used in exterior shots by the show’s producers.

On police advice, Ms Lorber, who until her retirement worked at Columbia University, tried to deter tourists by putting a chain and a no-trespassing sign at the foot of the steps, but it failed to deter fans of the show.

Intoxicated tourists have rang the doorbell of the home and graffiti has been etched onto the front door. Others posed on the steps or even danced.