Police confirmed an arrest had been made but declined to identify the suspect.

 "A 46-year-old man was arrested in connection with allegations of assault on a 43-year-old man following an incident" in west London on Tuesday, a spokeswoman for the British capital's Metropolitan Police told AFP.

 "He has been bailed to return, pending further inquiries, to a police station on a date in May," she said.

 Photographs showed Grant, wearing a grey hooded sweatshirt, shorts, a white baseball cap and sunglasses, apparently about to throw a container. He was also pictured apparently aiming a kick at a man holding a camera.

 Online news site The Daily Snack said the photographer alleged he was physically attacked by Grant, 46.

 The report alleged that the actor was walking near his home in the morning and attacked a photographer who asked if he could take his picture.

 "It looked like he had been out for a morning jog. I asked him if he would give me a smile because he was standing with his head down," photographer Ian Whittaker, 43, was quoted as saying.

 "But he must have been having a bad hair day because he started chasing me down the street.

 "He gave me a couple of kicks in the legs and I think he kneed me."

 Whittaker alleged that the star then picked up a plastic container of baked beans and threw it at him.

 The lensman then alleged that Grant, when told that Whittaker was a family man, made unsavoury remarks about his children.

 "That really upset me and is why I went to the police to make a complaint of assault against him. He was out of order," he said.

 Top British public relations guru Max Clifford told London freesheet thelondonpaper: "It's obviously not good publicity for (Grant) and he is obviously not a big fan of the paparazzi, but there's absolutely no justification for saying what he said.

 "He needs to tell his version of events and explain himself."

 Grant is known for his roles playing foppish English gentlemen.

 He starred in "Four Weddings and a Funeral" (1994), winning the best actor Golden Globe for his role.

 He has also starred in "Notting Hill" (1999), "Bridget Jones's Diary" (2001), "About a Boy" (2002) and "Love Actually" (2003).

 His last film was "Music and Lyrics", which came out in February and topped the British box office. He played opposite Drew Barrymore as a 1980s pop star.

Agence France Presse