Beckhams' ex-bodyguard sleeping rough at Heathrow Airport

A former bodyguard of David Beckham has been living in Heathrow Airport for three weeks after falling on hard times.

The man, using the pseudonym Simon Jones, 46, said he came upon the idea after remembering the film The Terminal, in which Tom Hanks plays an Eastern European who gets stuck at JFK airport after war broke out in his country.

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As well as being a former member of the Parachute Regiment, Mr Jones worked in private security for years, protecting the Saudi royal family, the Beckham family and US diplomats among others.

According to the Evening Standard, Mr Jones said: "I don't want to be a burden on anybody, so felt I couldn't stay on friends' floors for more than a night or two, especially since I can't pay my way.

"Then I remembered the Tom Hanks film about the bloke living at an airport."

Explaining what happened in the lead up to finding himself homeless, he told the Express: "Three creditors owed me a total of almost £50,000. I took them to court but they just declared themselves bankrupt. The really painful part is that at least two of them started trading again a few weeks later under slightly different names.

"The business put an enormous strain on my relationship and we separated. I was suddenly homeless and, because all the bank accounts were in joint names, penniless."

He says he eats leftovers from Cafe Nerro customers and washes in the toilets. He has been using the airport wifi in a bid to find work after his business collapsed.

He said he had only planned to stay for a couple of nights but has now been there for three weeks as staff don't seem "bothered".

A spokesman for Heathrow Airport told the Metro: "It is very sad when people fall on hard times and they occasionally come to the airport specifically because it is a warm and safe place.

"Heathrow employs a team of social workers to give assistance to those who need it.

"We take very seriously the safety of passengers and colleagues at Heathrow. In partnership with the Metropolitan Police and the Government the airport operates high levels of security, some of which is very visible to passengers and some of it covert. That security is constantly reviewed."