ENGLAND stars brought mayhem to the streets of Southampton when they visited the city centre on a shopping trip yesterday.
Hundreds of excited people stopped, stared and then got on their mobile phones to tell friends and family that members of the team were shopping at WestQuay and on the High Street.
A crazy rush for autographs and requests from adoring girls for a quick kiss ensued while men queued to shake hands with the England heroes and wish them good luck in tomorrow night's clash with Macedonia at the St Mary's stadium.
Such scenes of celebrity frenzy haven't been seen in Southampton before.
Goalkeeper David James was one of the first players to be seen as he walked past Allsports and casually asked staff if they had seen David Beckham.
But hero Becks was busy at John Lewis with David Seaman, buying a tiny Winnie the Pooh for baby Romeo and a set of four 'Hot Wheels' cars for Brooklyn.
He then made his way around Waterstones and admired his range of designer children's clothes in Marks & Spencer before he walked into Schuh with an aide and asked to try on a pair of sandals.
Simon Howells, manager at Schuh, said: "Beckham literally came in and asked if he could try on a pair of Birkenstock sandals. He wasn't bothered about the colour but he wanted a size eight-and-a-half. The ones he wanted were £59.99 but they can go up to £74.99."
But the captain's visit was short-lived after mass crowds blocked the shop entrance and he was forced to leave via the fire escape.
Mr Howells, 26, added: "He was really nice but it was just too manic so he didn't get to try on the sandals. He asked to leave from the back of the shop and I told him he can come back any time when the store is closed if he wants to try them on."
Steven Gerrard, Gary Neville and Nicky Butt were all surrounded by crowds demanding autographs on the High Street before they separately headed back to the De Vere Grand Harbour Hotel.
Meanwhile Ashley Cole, Owen Hargreaves, Danny Murphy and Paul Robinson were inside the shopping centre along with Ugo Ehiogu, who was spotted buying lacy pink lingerie in La Senza.
One of the last players out and about was Sol Campbell, who spent around half-an-hour looking at CDs in HMV while crowds gathered outside.
But some fans were left disappointed when Michael Owen and Emile Heskey were nowhere to be seen.
WestQuay bosses didn't know about the visit but their security staff were helping to keep the crowds at bay.
Spokeswoman Claire Smale said: "It was totally spontaneous. The first we knew was when they arrived and they were seen by security staff.
"Our priority was making sure that everyone was safe because there were a lot of people in the centre at the time, but we were delighted they chose to come and shop here."
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