A creepy stalker has been turning up at Benedict Cumberbatch’s house and leaving clues that would intrigue Sherlock Holmes himself.

The woman, thought to be an obsessed fan of the TV detective, has made several trips to the star’s home.

On at least two occasions she left curious red ribbons – one tied to the star’s car, the other fastened to a window of the house.

They are thought to be a reference to Arthur Conan Doyle’s original Sherlock Holmes novel.

But Cumberbatch, who lives in north London with his wife Sophie and baby son, was understandably concerned.

(Image: WireImage)

He called the Metropolitan Police.

And the woman has now been issued with an official Police Information Notice (PIN) notice over harassment – which forbids her from contacting the actor.

The star has also stepped up security at the London theatre where he is currently performing amid fears the woman may instead visit him there.

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Benedict, 39, has a legion of female admirers who dub themselves ­Cumberbitches and are well known for their intense fascination with him.

But sources say the actor felt this woman’s behaviour had crossed a line.

One said: “Benedict is used to people mobbing him wherever he goes and he’s a good sport about it.

(Image: BBC)

"But this individual has taken things to the next level and there was no option but to pursue official action.

"Turning up at professional events is one thing, but arriving uninvited at the family home is quite another.

“It might be that she thinks it’s ­harmless, but it does feel a bit sinister. Leaving red ribbons is obviously a bit of a game, but it does feel quite dark.”

Cumberbatch’s Sherlock co-stars Martin Freeman and his real-life partner Amanda Abbington have previously been targeted by a troll who posted chilling threats online.

An anonymous blogger posted a shocking message to the couple which included a picture of a baseball bat covered in barbed wire.

The picture was captioned with the words: “Shall we start prepping for a possible funeral?”

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The message read: “Both Martin Freeman and Amanda Abbington are starting to give Benedict and all his fans a bad name!

"They both seriously just need to shut up and f*****g die already!”

Amanda replied: “To the coward who’s since shut this blog down. We’ve already informed the police sweetie. They have all the info.”

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Cumberbatch has spoken about his concerns about the behaviour of some fans.

He said in 2012: “There is some obsessive behaviour, which is quite worrying. I worry for them, not for me.

"I’m still very sensitive and wary of people recognising me.

"The only thing that really annoys me is people trying to surreptitiously take a photo on their phone without asking.

“I feel it’s cowardly and a bit pathetic. Just ask me if you really want me to have a photograph with you.”

The attention of his obsessive fan base even prompted the star to refuse to do autographs at the stage door of London’s Barbican theatre where he is currently appearing as Shakespeare’s Hamlet.

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He has now reversed this decision after fans ignored the theatre’s instructions not to wait outside, with the star regularly mobbed as he leaves.

Cumberbatch, whose parents Timothy Carlton and Wanda Ventham are actors, has become one of the most in-demand names in movies following an Oscar nomination for his role in The Imitation Game as World War II codebreaker Alan Turing last year.

He also appeared in Star Trek: Into Darkness and Twelve Years A Slave.

(Image: David M. Benett/Dave Benett/Getty Images)

Earlier this year he married theatre director girlfriend Sophie Hunter, 37, on the Isle of Wight, with telly judge Robert Rinder acting as his best man and guests including actor Tom Hiddlestone.

In June he and Sophie had their first child, named Christopher Carlton.

The stalker alert came as Cumberbatch is back in the limelight, with new TV images showing him and Freeman playing Holmes and Watson as the original ­Victorian sleuths.

The one-off drama, The Abonimable Bride, will air on New Year’s Day. Filming on the BBC’s fourth series of Sherlock begins next spring.

The red ribbons

The red ribbons left by the stalker are significant to fans of Sherlock Holmes.

In A Study In Scarlet, Holmes’ accomplice Dr John Watson uses a red ribbon to tie his case files together.

The title of Arthur Conan Doyle’s book derives from a speech in which Holmes tells Watson: “There’s the scarlet thread of murder running through the colourless skein of life, and our duty is to unravel it, isolate it, and expose every inch of it.”

Death threats and web slurs by obsessed weirdos

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Cumberbatch is the latest in a long line of celebrities to be plagued by stalkers.

Countdown star Rachel Riley was bombarded with death threats and more than 500 online messages by a paranoid ­schizophrenic who began targeting her after she got married.

In a seven-year ordeal, Coronation Street actress Kym Marsh fell victim to an obsessed stalker who set up bogus accounts and posted pictures and messages pretending to be her.

(Image: Jen Urwin/Manchester Evening News)

Classical singer Katherine Jenkins endured a year of bullying by an online pest who faked her ID to post slurs about her and her late father.

Ex-England footballer Rio Ferdinand was pursued by Susanne Ibru who travelled 400 miles from Peckham, south London to his Cheshire home.

She was jailed for 10 weeks after a judge described her as “predatory and manipulative”.

And a woman claiming she had an affair with Fatal attraction star Michael Douglas threatened to slice up his wife Catherine Zeta-Jones “and feed her to the dogs”.