David Beckham spoke to TODAY about his anguish over feeling ‘helpless’ against a stalker who left his daughter Harper after he was afraid to leave the house — the obsessive fan tried to pick her up from school.
Sharon Bell, 58, has been accused of harassing former Manchester United and England midfielder David with multiple letters after trying to contact him since 2016.
She wrongly believed she was in a relationship with 47-year-old Beckham, and that he and Victoria had conspired to steal her eggs from inside her body.
In a most horrifying incident, Bell came to the Beckhams’ 11-year-old daughter’s prep school on November 18, claiming: ‘I am Harper’s mother. I have come here to get him.’
Victoria was also there and when the police arrived, she saw the pursuer ’empty’ and took her away.
Fears were open today over the eminent couple’s campaign of harassment to be detained under the Mental Health Act.
District Judge Michael Snow ruled that she was a risk to Harper, Brooklyn, Romeo and Cruz because she was “obsessed with family.”
In a statement read to Westminster Magistrates’ Court, David said: ‘I felt as though the language in the letters was becoming more sentimental and posing a threat to me and my family – and it worried me.
‘She appeared without warning, making the threat more targeted and intimidating.
‘I felt helpless and angry that there was nothing I could do.’
Beckham denied having an affair with Bell, saying he had never seen her before.
Victoria Beckham’s statement says: ‘due to the excessive attention’ [my husband and I receive from fans]We are rarely informed about the nature of communication from fans.
“I tried to protect her and I’m concerned about her safety.”
She added: “I’m very worried and worried that Harper is going to the park or take her on a school trip.”
Prosecutor Arizuna Asante said: ‘She is now afraid to go out and it has created problems for her.’
‘She’s worried, especially when Harper goes on a school trip.’
Victoria Beckham says she’s afraid to leave hunter Sharon Bell’s house
Sharon Bell, 58, sent a series of chilling letters that left David ‘helpless and angry’
David Beckham and Betty Harper as often featured on their public Instagram
Bell sent a handwritten letter to Beckham’s Oxfordshire home on July 5 last year, saying she planned to join the estate a few days later.
‘I got your address from a detective agency, I hope you don’t mind. I have feelings for you, David,’ it read.
‘Victoria owes me some money, David, as she said she’s been robbing my bank account for years, which isn’t great. If she hadn’t, I would have appreciated her.
The court heard that Bell was ‘persistent’ when she arrived at the property on July 9, but after being told by security it was the wrong address.
Another letter was sent to the Beckham home in Holland Park before Bell arrived on 9 September.
‘Please stay there, otherwise someone will go to the press and say you both have my roll numbers. Now it will not look good, as you have OBE,’ the letter said.
‘You said if I text you first and I’m unarmed (which I’ll be) I can come over for chat and tea (Earl Gray is my favorite tea). I really want to chat with you, so can I come for a chat?’
The letter also mentioned the home of television presenter Richard Madley, and said: ‘I will not be visiting you.
‘Family time is very precious!’ Victoria Beckham shared photos from her recent European trip to celebrate their 23rd wedding anniversary on Friday
Happy family: The former Spice Girl was joined by her parents, Jackie and Anthony Adams, as well as her 38-year-old sister Louise and her rarely-seen brother Christian
‘I just want to talk to you. You owe me, David (P.S. I’d love to be with you when you have brain surgery to give you some new brain cells) and your friend Tom Cruise has really upset me, David.
‘He has done some terrible things to me.’
In a third letter sent in October, Bell said: ‘I love you and have done so since we were kids.’
Beckham said he had never met Bell and spoke about his concern about his ‘growing up’ behaviour, which he felt was happening ‘irregularly and unpredictable’.
“I felt as though the language of the letter was growing and getting more sentimental and threatening towards me and my family, and that got me worried,” he said.
‘The letters were becoming increasingly dangerous and apparently the woman knew where I lived.’
Bell of Watford was charged with stalking, but did not face criminal trial because he has a mental disorder.
District Judge Michael Snow said he was satisfied he had committed criminal conduct and ordered Bell to be detained under the Mental Health Act, produced by video-link in court.
He cited his “rather terrifying idea” of researching Beckham’s address and the “exciting words” used in his letters.
“She feared for the safety of her family, worried about what Ms Bell might do next,” the judge said.