The US actor Bill Murray could face a drunk driving charge in Sweden after riding through central Stockholm on a golf cart and refusing to take a breathalyser test, police said today.

Officers spotted Murray early on Monday morning in the slow-moving vehicle and noticed he smelled of alcohol when they pulled him over, Detective Inspector Christer Holmlund, of the Stockholm police, said.

"He refused to blow in the (breathalyser) instrument, citing American legislation," Mr Holmlund told the Associated Press. "So we applied the old method - a blood test. It will take 14 days before the results are in."

Murray, the star of films including Lost in Translation and Ghostbusters, had been attending a golf tournament in Sweden. He signed a document admitting that he was driving under the influence and agreed to let a police officer plead guilty on his behalf if the case went to court, Mr Holmlund said. "Then he was let go. My guess is he went back to America," Mr Holmlund added.

He said the actor would only be charged if tests showed his blood alcohol level exceeded the legal limit, which is 20mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood, a quarter of the UK limit.

A very high alcohol level could lead to a prison sentence, but Mr Holmlund said a fine was more likely.

"There were no obvious signs, like when someone is really tipsy."

Mr Holmlund said it wasn't clear where Murray picked up the vehicle, or who owned it.

"It was a golf cart. How it ended up in this predicament I don't know," he said, adding that Murray was not facing any theft charges.

It is not illegal to drive a golf cart in city traffic in Sweden, Mr Holmlund said, but it is unusual.

"I have done this since '68 and I've never experienced anything like this."

The organiser of the Scandinavian Masters golf tournament, which Murray had been attending, said later the golf cart in question had been on display for a week outside the hotel where Murray was staying.

Murray "borrowed" the cart to go to a nightclub around half a mile away, Fredrik Nilsmark said, and was pulled over on his way back to the hotel.

Mr Nilsmark said the vehicle was not intended for guests' use, but added: "I don't hold any grudge against Bill Murray for borrowing our cart for a while."