David Beckham reveals concerns about stalker's 'threatening' behaviour in court

David Beckham admitted in a statement read out in court on Tuesday that he was worried what his stalker "would do next".

During a hearing at Westminster Magistrates' Court, prosecutor Arizuna Asante read out a statement from the former soccer star in which he described how Sharon Bell's letters and visits to his homes affected him, his wife Victoria Beckham, and their four children.

"It made me worried about what she would do next," he said, before expressing his concern over her "escalating" behaviour, which he felt was becoming "erratic and unpredictable".

"I felt like the language in the letter was escalating and becoming more emotional and threatening towards me and my family and this worried me," he continued. "The letters were becoming increasingly threatening and obviously the female knew where I lived."

The court heard how Bell, 58, sent letters to Beckham before turning up at the family's Oxfordshire and London homes between July and November last year.

In her first handwritten letter, sent to his Oxfordshire home on 5 July, Bell expressed "feelings" for the sports star and told him she planned to attend the property days later. She arrived on 9 July but left after security told her she had the wrong address.

She sent a second letter to his London home asking for "a chat and a tea" before turning up on 9 September, and in a third letter, she wrote, "I do love you and have done since we were children."

Bell was charged with stalking but did not face a criminal trial because she has a mental health disorder, reports Sky News.

District Judge Michael Snow made an order to detain Bell, who appeared in court via video link, under the Mental Health Act.