POLICE frantically knocked on a mother's door believing a dead body to be sitting in the living room - only to discover it was a life-size doll.

A passer-by had tipped off officers after walking past the house in West Drayton for several days and spotting a 'mysterious figure' sitting in the front room, which had not moved.

On Friday evening at 7.35pm police made their move, after the suspicions were reported to them, and were left scratching their heads at their discovery.

Neena Mukherjee, 49, of Bellclose Road, West Drayton, said: "It is totally bizarre and I am still in shock.

"There were five policemen outside all trying to get into my house. I was out the back when I heard a thumping noise.

"I thought it was my next door neighbour doing some work. The banging continued and I thought the house was going to fall apart, the front door was double locked so they were unable to force their way in.

"I went upstairs, saw four police cars and an ambulance and went down to answer.

"They asked, what is in here, a dead woman? When I said it was a doll they didn't believe me.

"The police told me that a regular passer-by had reported it as they had seen it sitting there and not seen it move for days, they thought it was a dead person.

Mrs Mukherjee is a married artist and collector and says she cannot recall of ever hearing anything like this happen before.

"It usually sits in a display but I was moving and cleaning it so it sat on the chair for a few days. From the outside you can see the back of its head. I still don't see who could really think it was a dead body.

"Michael Jackson kept so many mannequins and nobody asked any questions of him. I am an artist and I collect them. Every mannequin is an art piece by somebody.

"It worries me what could have happened if I was on holiday or if I had not been in.

"My car was stolen two months ago and I have to say the police were not much help to me on that occasion."

A Hillingdon police spokesperson said: "The member of the public reported that he was concerned as he had seen a person through a house window who may be collapsed or was injured and had been sitting in the same position for a number of days.

"Police attended and spoke to the owner at the address. The owner confirmed that she collects dolls. No crime was reported."

Perhaps Mrs Mukherjee had a lucky escape. In Manchester in May 2007, a home owner was confronted by armed police who spotted a life-sized gun-toting doll in his window. It turned out to be a model of video game character Lara Croft. The owner was arrested, and had to spend 13 hours in police cells before being released without charge.