The Channel 4 camera crew arrested after squirting Tom Cruise with a water pistol will not face charges.

The actor has decided not to prosecute the prankster and his three crew members after the incident at the London premiere of War of the Worlds on Sunday.

The four were arrested after Cruise was squirted with water from a fake microphone while being interviewed on the red carpet.

But the actor, who branded the culprit a "jerk", has decided not to press charges, his spokesman told US television show Entertainment Tonight.

However, a Scotland Yard spokeswoman said it had not yet been informed of the actor's decision.

The four men, aged between 28 and 47, were taken into custody before being released on bail and ordered to return on July 4.

Cruise and his fiancee, actress Katie Holmes, were talking to some of the 5,000 fans in Leicester Square for the premiere.

As he answered questions from journalists, a bogus reporter stuck out a joke microphone and used it to squirt water in Cruise's face.

Cruise, 42, did not appreciate the joke and told the prankster: "I'm here giving you an interview, answering your questions and you do something really nasty... you're a jerk ... jerk ... you're a jerk."

The actor said it was "disgusting" that someone should act in such a way.

The joker and his three-strong crew were filming a sketch for a new Channel 4 comedy programme.

A spokesman for the channel said the incident was not intended to cause offence and was "very much in a spirit of fun".

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