Council creates 'Beckham trail'

Beckham was born at Whipps Cross Hospital and lived in Leytonstone

David Beckham's early days kicking a ball on council-owned pitches and working at the dog track are being celebrated by a London council.

The London Borough of Waltham Forest has been flooded with inquiries from across the world about its most famous son.

Now council chiefs hope a new online tourist trail celebrating his early life will help with enquiries and inspire local children to "pursue their own passion".

The council's website directs fans to a page with information about the England captain's early haunts and links to sites for those areas.

From Whipps Cross Hospital, where he was born in 1975 to the Ainslie Wood pitches near his grandparents' house, fans can find out where their hero grew up and honed his skills.

The Beckham Trail

And they can see how far he has come.

His current multi-million pound career as a footballer, model and general national icon is a far cry from the days he worked as a £10-a-night glass collector on greyhound race nights.

Council spokeswoman Lorraine Sweeney said there were lots of places around the borough where Beckham had played and worked.

She said: "What we wanted to do is mark that in some way, because we do get a lot of requests for information - he is a global icon.

"We have got together an online tourist trail that people can either visit online, or they can come down to Waltham Forest and look for themselves."

The council is capitalising on its local boy made good as part of a general move to raise its profile and attract more visitors.