Moment furious Hugh Grant grabs Rome executive's mobile phone after 'mistaking her for paparazzi' as she blocked his wife Anna's path while filming people illegally dumping rubbish

Anna Eberstein (L) and her husband Hugh Grant. Photo / Getty Images

Hugh Grant pushed a woman's camera away after reportedly mistaking her for paparazzi during an angry altercation in Italy.

The British actor was walking around Rome with his wife when he stumbled upon Luisa Melara, the head of municipal waste company AMA.

She had been filming a restaurateur dumping waste from the business in an area meant for household waste, the Daily Mail reports.

Melara blocked his wife Anna Elisabet Eberstein's path, which Grant apparently took offence to, reports Repubblica.

Grant, now 58, married long-term girlfriend Anna Elisabet Eberstein in a ceremony in west London in May last year. Photo / Getty Images

In the clip, a female voice, believed to be Eberstein, is heard to say in English: "Sorry? What were you doing? That's nice. Stupid c****."

Grant then says "Don't put your foot out in front of my wife", before putting his hand in the way of the camera.

Melara claims that she did not recognise Grant or his wife. She said she put her foot out in front of them to let them know they should not cross her path as she was filming.

She added: "Grant, who was behind me, reached over and took my phone. I took it back [and] he said: 'You are not polite.'"

"I said the same to him as a colleague explained that I was the president of Rome's rubbish collection company."

Rome's waste disposal has been a decades-long problem for the Italian capital, especially in the summer heat. Photo / Getty Images

Rome's mayor, Virginia Raggi, believes organised criminals are to blame for the city's waste problems. Bins are overflowing in the capital after it was left without a place for waste disposal.

MailOnline has approached Grant's representatives for comment.

Grant, now 58, married long-term girlfriend Eberstein in a ceremony in west London in May last year.

The couple have three children, born in 2012, 2015 and 2018.

He split up in 2000 with his actress girlfriend Elizabeth Hurley after 13 years together and had previously spoken of his reluctance to marry.

Rome's mayor, Virginia Raggi, believes organised criminals are to blame for the city's waste problems. Photo / Getty Images

Earlier this year it emerged that he had bought a six-bedroom £17.5 million (NZ$33m) property in Chelsea.

He also rents out his former Notting Hill home for £7000 (NZ$13,200) a month, it was reported.

Rome's waste disposal has been a decades-long problem for the Italian capital, especially in the summer heat.

The city was left with no major site to treat the 1.7 million metric tonnes of waste it produces every year when the Malagrotta landfill was closed in 2013.