29 August,2011 04:15 PM IST | | Agencies
Football star David Beckham and his family have reportedly hired a armed guard while they holiday in Malibu.
The 36-year-old player, who has kids Brooklyn, 12, Romeo, eight, Cruz, six, and one-and-a-half month Harper Seven with wife Victoria, was protected by a minder who was wearing an openly holstered pistol, Femalefirst reported.
"I can't comment on any individual case, but the practice of celebrities hiring off-duty officers for private security purposes is common practice here," said a spokesperson from the Los Angeles Police Department.
Freelance photographer Mike Kamara saw the bodyguard and explained the gun was clearly visible on the outside of his clothes.
"I didn't notice him at first. He kept in the background very discreetly. But I noticed him when David walked over and handed him a plastic toy that the youngsters had been playing with," Kamara said.
