The Kingly Club said it provided Tom Cruise with a double

The Kingly Club is employing doubles to act as decoys, which it hopes will knock certain photographers off the scent of visiting celebrities.

A spokesman said the idea came after Hollywood actor Tom Cruise was provided with a decoy when he visited the venue.

Last week Prince Harry was involved in a scuffle with a photographer outside a club in London's West End.

A spokesman for The Kingly Club said Tom Cruise's doppelganger visited other clubs in the city allowing the actor to party in peace.

We are safeguarding the security and safety of our guests and having a little joke at the expense of the snappers The Kingly Club owner Dezzi McCausland

The spokesman said the decoys provided a "non-confrontational" way of protecting stars' privacy and that it was not trying to stop "professional" photographers doing their jobs, just "chancers"

Club owner Dezzi McCausland said he was amazed at how successful the Tom Cruise double proved

He said: "As a result, only the best photographers remained outside the venue - the unprofessional chancers having biked off in mistaken pursuit of their quarry."

"We are not against the paparazzi doing their job.

"However, by employing decoys to throw the majority of the paparazzi off the scent, we are safeguarding the security and safety of our guests, and having a little joke at the expense of the snappers."

The club, which celebrates its first birthday this week, said the decoys were being provided by A-List Lookalikes which has provided body doubles for Angelina Jolie in the Tomb Raider films and David Beckham in adverts.