David and Victoria Beckham’s housekeepers have been arrested for stealing from them.
The thefts were discovered when a friend of Victoria’s parents, Tony and Jackie Adams, alerted them to internet listings for items including soccer boots worn by David and some of the former Spice Girl’s designer clothes.
David and Victoria were horrified to discover all the items up for sale on auction website eBay had been taken from their Essex property.
A source said: 'Tony and Jackie were tipped off about some of David and Victoria’s possessions appearing on eBay. They checked it out and recognised the items as ones which had either been given to David and Victoria or bought by them and placed in their home.
'When they checked out the house, they discovered items matching those that were being offered for sale were missing and called in the police.'
The seller claimed to be a relative of a member of staff at David’s soccer academy who had been forced to sell the items because of financial problems. Officers arrested housekeepers Eric and June Emmet on suspicion of theft before releasing them on police bail.
David, 33, and Victoria, 34 – who live in Los Angeles but have flown back to the UK to deal with the incident – had employed the couple for more than 10 years. A friend of the Beckhams said: 'David and Victoria are hugely traumatised. To think they have been betrayed by people they trusted is even more upsetting.'
June, 56, insists she and her 55-year-old husband are innocent. She said: 'I totally deny the allegations. This has all come as a bolt from the blue. The whole thing has taken us by surprise.'
Victoria is not the only Spice Girl to have been hit with turmoil this week. Her former bandmate Mel B was left shaken after a stranger threatened her husband Stephen Belafonte at London’s Heathrow airport on Sunday (12.10.08).
The pair had flown back to the UK from Los Angeles with Mel’s 14-month-old daughter Angel Iris and were being photographed by waiting paparazzi when a man reportedly threatened to kill Stephen.
An eyewitness said the male had recognised the former Spice Girl and given her a "hard time', adding: 'There was a lot of pushing and she was in tears.'
Mel later played down the incident, saying: 'It’s just one of those crazy things.'