Man ordered to leave Cruise alone

Cruise did not seek the restraining order, according to his lawyer

A judge in California has ordered an Iraq war veteran to stay away from actor Tom Cruise's Beverly Hills home.

Edward Van Tassel, 29, made two visits to the star's home earlier this month, a court in Santa Barbara has heard.

According to the ex-soldier's attorney, Van Tassel had hoped to deliver a letter exhorting the actor to join his campaign to help Iraq war veterans.

"He is not there to stalk Mr Cruise as some sort of fan-obsessed person," said lawyer Robert Landheer.

"He wants to enlist him in his mission to get appropriate remedies for soldiers of the Iraq war."

Psychiatric care

On Wednesday, Santa Barbara Superior Court Judge George Eskin issued a restraining order to prevent Van Tassel from approaching Cruise or his residential property.

The actor's lawyer said his client did not ask for the restraining order but that the judge acted properly in issuing it.

"Tom didn't even know about it," Bert Fields told the news agency, adding that Cruise "feels very strongly about veterans of not only the Iraq war, but any veterans of war".

Van Tassel was arrested last month after an incident near Santa Barbara in which he stood on a freeway overpass with a gun and a sign.

Mr Landheer said Van Tassel had been sent back to a veterans' hospital in Los Angeles - where he had been receiving psychiatric care - and would no longer be allowed to leave.

Cruise, 46, received a Golden Globe nomination on Thursday for his role in the comedy Tropic Thunder.

He will shortly be seen in World War II drama Valkyrie, playing a German officer who tried to assassinate Adolf Hitler.