Depp was cautioned after spending four hours in custody.

The fracas happened when the photographers tried to take his picture. He allegedly threatened them with a wooden plank when they approached him outside Mirabelle restaurant in central London early on Sunday morning.

A police spokesman said: "They arrested a 35-year-old man for threatening behaviour and he was taken to West End Central police station.

"He was later cautioned for threatening behaviour at approximately 5.20am and released."

Depp is in Britain to film Sleepy Hollow. He most recently starred in the film Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas.

The 35-year-old actor has been in trouble with the police before. In 1994 he was charged with wrecking a hotel room in New York.