Affleck arrest warrant dismissed

Affleck vehemently denied the allegations

An arrest warrant against actor Ben Affleck has been dropped after officials found no evidence that he threatened a woman.

Tara Ray - who claimed she has been in a relationship with the actor - took out the warrant and accused the star of "communicating threats".

But a North Carolina District Attorney, John Carriker, dismissed the warrant after being unable to contact Ms Ray.

Affleck denied the accusation, saying he was in another state at the time.

Under North Carolina law, Ms Ray was able to take out a warrant without evidence of a crime or the involvement of police.

Mr Carriker also criticised the system that allowed the warrant to be taken out on Saturday.

After the claim became public, Affleck's spokesman described the allegation as "absurd and defamatory - he has no idea who this woman is".

Woman's allegation

Ms Ray originally accused the Pearl Harbor star of threatening to hurt her in North Carolina on 25 September. But Affleck, 31, has said he was in Georgia on that day and had never met the woman.

Ms Ray originally alleged the Hollywood star had followed her as she drove home and made threats to hurt her.

"I honestly believed my life was in danger," she said. "I'm not out for the publicity part. I just wanted it to be known in the public that he's very capable of doing this to me."

Affleck's spokesman had said there were "probably at least 50 paparazzi" who could attest the actor was in Savannah, Georgia. He has a $4.4m (£2.8m) ranch near the city.

Mr Carriker added: "This is a very good example of why people shouldn't be able to take out a warrant without any kind of police investigation."

But he said there were no plans to charge Ms Ray with any offence.