HE’S the last person she expected to see on the wards of her Afghanistan hospital.

For Squadron Leader Sarah Charters, a typical day involves treating horrifically injured soldiers, dealing with casualties from the frontline and living with the possible threat of explosions.

But the 41-year-old and her team of medics running the emergency department of Camp Bastion’s UK-led, worldclass hospital found themselves face to face with one of England’s footballing greats when David Beckham flew in to Helmand Province for a visit.

The former Manchester United, Real Madrid and AC Milan star arrived in the war-torn country on a Royal Air Force C17 aircraft, stepping out into the scorching 45C heat in the obligatory body armour and helmet.

His first stop was the state-of-the-art hospital where he met Sarah and her team as well as injured personnel and two Afghan children being treated in intensive care.

It’s the fourth time that Sarah, who is on a three-month tour of duty away from her normal job as a senior sister in Southampton General Hospital’s emergency department, has flown to the frontline to offer her medical skills.

Sarah told the Daily Echo: “Beckham was brought on a tour of the hospital, but as he arrived we were also expecting a trauma patient so we had to care for them first and then catch up with him later.

“He was a really nice bloke and it was very good that he came here to meet all the troops.

“It is an absolute honour to work in an environment like this where I know I am helping to save lives, and David’s visit reminds everyone at home of what we actually do here.

“There was a bit of excitement when he arrived. I’ve been here since April and we have not really had any visits so I admire him for coming here and helping to raise the profile – he is a really good bloke – but I would have liked to have seen Jonny Wilkinson!”

Sarah, who lives with her husband Alan in Bishopstoke, added: “The good thing about being out here is that I’m working with such a good team. We are dealing with trauma patients here that you would never see in the UK. One of the most important things for the guys out here is to know that, if they get injured, they have a first class medical back-up available.”

Becks described troops as the bravest people he had ever met, adding: “They are putting their lives on the line for us and we owe them a great debt.”