I almost died of laughter when I saw this!!

3 MAY 2006

As one of Spanish football club Real Madrid's star players, David Beckham is used to strutting his stuff alongside heroes dressed in white. The England skipper stood shoulder to shoulder with a rather more shady figure when he came face to face with the Dark Knight, however.

The father-of-three had an encounter with comic book hero Batman when he paid a visit to the Warner Brothers theme park to mark his birthday this week. And although the hunky athlete seemed delighted to make his statuesque host's acquaintance, the legendary crimefighter's trademark frown didn't flicker for a moment.

Becks needn't have felt uncomfortable, though, as he's sure to have known Batman isn't exactly the smiley type. The smouldering vigilante welcomed David and his sons Brooklyn and Romeo to the theme park near their Madrid home as the midfielder celebrated his 31st birthday on Tuesday afternoon.

Their differing demeanours might suggest the two men would have little to talk about, but they do share a common interest in fast cars. The statuesque scourge of Gotham's underworld was proudly showing off his bulletproof Batmobile when David came calling, while the footie ace has just taken possession of a souped-up Audi sportscar. And his new runabout would no doubt meet with Batman's approval, as it features jet black paintwork with a matching ebony interior.