Tom Cruise prowler was drunken neighbour

A security guard has used a stun gun on a man he thought was prowling around the grounds of Tom Cruise's home.

It later transpired the apparent prowler was actually an intoxicated neighbour who may have mistakenly entered the property.

Lt Lincoln Hoshino said the confrontation occurred at the Mission: Impossible actor's Beverly Hills residence at about 9.30pm on Sunday.

Fifty-year-old Cruise and his family were not home at the time.

The guard said he saw a man 'climbing a fence to gain access to the property' and then used the stun gun to detain him before the police arrived.

Tom Cruise separated from his wife Katie Holmes this year.

The officer then reportedly told City News Service that the man was identified as a 41-year-old neighbour who lives in an adjacent property and had been drunk at the time.

The man was taken into custody for allegedly trespassing and treated at a hospital for any injuries incurred from the stun gun.