A paramedic treating an elderly man who had fallen over on a London street received a shock when former Manchester United star David Beckham stopped by with tea and coffee.

Catherine Maynard said that she had been waiting for an ambulance with the man when Beckham walked past, before returning 10 minutes later with hot beverages for the pair.

“I was waiting with my patient for an ambulance to transfer him to hospital and although I was keeping him warm, it was very cold outside,” she told the Evening Standard newspaper.

“All of a sudden, I looked up and saw someone who looked like David Beckham walking past us. He said hello and got in his car.

“I said to the man I was treating, ‘I think that was David Beckham.’ Ten minutes later, he came back with a cup of coffee for me and a tea for the patient.”

The London Ambulance Service posted a picture on Twitter of Maynard with Beckham, who was wearing a dark hat, dark top, grey jogging bottoms and fluorescent green trainers.

Referencing the 2002 film ‘Bend it Like Beckham’, @Ldn_Ambulance wrote: “Thank you David Beckham for buying a tea and coffee for Cycle Paramedic Catherine and her patient #buyitlikebeckham.”

It is not the first time that former England captain Beckham, 40, has stopped to help a member of the public.

In 2011, a motorist told BBC radio that his car had broken down on a roundabout in Hertfordshire, southern England when Beckham pulled over and got out to help.