Will Bronte successfully drive a wedge between them? Home and Away‘s Irene Roberts

and Leah Patterson are going to find their friendship pushed to breaking point,

in scenes set to air in Australia this week. Following on from a discovery on the beach last week,

and people subsequently falling ill, Summer Bay’s residents are trying to deal with a contaminated water crisis.

As reported by Australia’s TV Week magazine, Irene and Leah have discovered that the Diner has also had its water supply contaminated – and if that wasn’t enough of a worry, an unnamed customer has decided to sue them for $50,000.

Irene gets on the phone to the insurance company, to see what she can do to cover the cost.

There’s another issue, however. Scam artist Bronte has been taking advantage of Irene’s generosity and naivety by pretending she has an autoimmune condition, and has been living at Irene’s and getting her to pay for food.

After overhearing about the legal action, Bronte says she’s been affected by the contaminated water and it has worsened her condition.

Irene actually encourages Bronte to sue as well, and Leah can’t believe it. She tells her friend not to do this because it could drag the business under.

Irene refuses to listen, and it looks like she’s risking irreparable damage to their friendship.

“It’s a remarkable moment,” said Stefanie Caccamo, who plays Bronte. She explained that her character experiences “dollar-sign eyes” on learning of the lawsuit against the Diner, and believes she could “potentially score more money than she’s ever scammed before”.

Caccamo added: “Bronte has never experienced generosity like Irene’s. I think she almost feels guilty… but only for a second.”

Meanwhile, a recent trailer has confirmed that Bronte is set to be caught out, and will resort to drastic measures to keep things under wraps.