George Clooney and his British fiancee Amal Alamuddin have dashed the hopes of celebrity watchers and London shoppers when it was confirmed the couple would not be getting married at a register office in the capital.

Media from around the world gathered at the steps of the Kensington and Chelsea Register Office hoping to catch a glimpse of the 53-year-old film star and human rights lawyer Miss Alamuddin.

But they packed up their cameras after register office staff put up a notice to say it would not be conducting the couple's service.

The notice, signed by additional superintendent registrar Dan Geoghegan, read: "We have assisted in the legal preliminaries for a proposed wedding for George Clooney and his fiancee.

"We do not give out details of the date or time of any wedding ceremony.

"A certificate of no impediment was applied for and has been issued as no objection was raised.

"In this case we actually have no record of when the wedding will take place as it was not necessary to ask in order to facilitate the issue of the documents.

"We are not conducting the wedding of Mr Clooney at this office today (Friday 12 September) and a film crew and press photographers would only cause possible disruption to other couples getting married on this day. So we ask that the press do not attend."

Rumours had suggested that the couple may marry at his home overlooking Lake Como in Italy, but the actor recently confirmed the couple have picked Venice for their nuptials.

The star spilled the beans as he was accepting an award in Tuscany during a Celebrity Fight Night event, saying: "I met my lovely bride-to-be here in Italy, whom I will be marrying, in a couple of weeks, in Venice, of all places."