LONDON (AFP) - British police said yesterday they had arrested four men on suspicion of brandishing a gun at tennis star Andy Murray.

However, media reports suggest they were fans with nothing more threatening than a tennis racquet.

The suspects' car was stopped and searched and "no trace of a firearm was found", Scotland Yard said, adding that they had been released on bail pending further investigation.

According to the Sun newspaper, the men tapped on the window of Murray's stationary car after a book signing in London on Wednesday, trying to get him to sign a racquet.

The Wimbledon champion drove off so they got back in their Mercedes - but not before a member of the public had called the police and reported that one of them had a weapon.

In July, Murray became the first British man to win Wimbledon for 77 years although he missed the latter part of the season after undergoing surgery on his back in September.