Surf toys and a hired gun: Beckham's beach essentials include armed bodyguard

It is the kind of security measure usually reserved for senior politicians or royalty.

But David Beckham appears to have hired an armed bodyguard to protect his family as they hit the beach in California.

The 36-year-old footballer, who has four children – Brooklyn, 12, Romeo, eight, Cruz, six, and baby Harper Seven – with wife Victoria, was spotted next to a minder wearing a holstered pistol.

The man was thought to be an off-duty police officer employed on a freelance basis by Beckham while he enjoyed a day out with his sons on Malibu Beach in Los Angeles.

Playing it safe: David Beckham gets a helping hand from his armed minder during a family day out at Malibu Beach

It is illegal in California to carry a loaded weapon unless you are a law-enforcement officer. But a Los Angeles police spokesman said ‘the practice of celebrities hiring off-duty officers for private security purposes is common here’.

One onlooker, who saw the man with Beckham, said: ‘I didn’t notice him at first. He kept in the background discreetly.

‘But I noticed him when David walked over and handed him a plastic toy the youngsters had been playing with.

‘I saw immediately that he was wearing a holstered pistol on his right hip.’The footballer was spotted surfing with sons Brooklyn, Romeo and Cruz at the weekend.

Multi-talented: David Beckham was seen indulging in his latest passion of photography on the beach in Malibu

Surfs up: The footballer takes to the water with his three sons Brooklyn, Romeo and Cruz

David showed off his skills as a snapper by photographing the boys as they splashed about in the water.

Brooklyn braved the surf in just a pair of shorts too while Romeo and Cruz ventured into the surf in wetsuits.

And while Brooklyn was happy carrying his own body board, David was seen carrying three, his own and those of his youngest boys.

As the family made their way back to their rented beach house, owned by movie maker Steven Speilberg, David was stopped by a young female fan who asked him to sign her pink football.

Obliging the fans: As he made his way back to his beach house David was stopped by a young female fan who asked him to sign her pink football