Actress Reese Witherspoon [Images], rumoured to be going through a rough patch in her marriage, was forced to call the cops after being stalked by the paparazzi last week.

Cameramen desperate to get shots of the Vanity Fair star hounded her as soon as she came out of the gym with her husband Ryan Phillippe, and had to be helped by her trainer to fob off the animated pack.

'Her trainer came out and had to help her get past them so she could get into her car,' an onlooker was quoted by the New York Daily News as saying.

'When she finally pulled out, they jumped in their cars and took off after her. They chased her all the way home to where she lives, in a gated community. The security guards jumped out and had to assist her to get away from them.'

She finally managed to call the Los Angeles police once she got home, but the paparazzi apparently managed to flee before they arrived.

Photograph: Getty Images