A tweet claiming wire placed across a cycling trail had slit a man’s throat has been found to be a "false alarm".

The claim, which was posted by someone calling themselves Michael Hardman from Buckhurst Hill on Saturday (June 27), stated that a wire across an Epping Forest trail at head height had left him seriously injured.

It read: “@mchardmanuk @cityoflondon wire across trails head height Epping Forest look at the damage. What you going to do?”

The tweet, which received more than 300 retweets and 100 replies, sparked an urgent investigation by the City of London Corporation.

But it later emerged the image used had been taken from a Hungarian news website.

Mr Hardman later removed the tweet.

City of London Corporation’s head forest keeper said: “The picture appears to have been taken from a Hungarian news story.

“An investigation was launched and our Forest Keepers searched the area as soon as we received the alert.

“Thankfully this appears to be a false alarm, but as always our team remains vigilant, and we are working hard to make sure cyclists are as safe as possible in the forest environment.

“If any members of the public see dangerous obstacles to cyclists like this they should call both the police and Epping Forest’s Keepers on 020 8532 1010.”

Mr Hardman has been approached for comment.