David Beckham flew back to England today to be with his father, who is seriously ill in hospital.

Ted Beckham was admitted to Whipps Cross Hospital in Leytonstone, east London, last night suffering from a heart attack. He was then transferred to another hospital in the early hours of this morning.

"His father had a heart attack," Simon Oliveira, Beckham's publicist, said. "David was made aware of it late last night. He caught the first available flight."

Beckham, wearing dark glasses and a brown jacket and jeans, sat in first class on the 12-hour flight and was the first person to leave the British Airways plane after it touched down at lunchtime today. He was met by two airline officials who had a car waiting on the tarmac and he was whisked straight to the hospital, where he arrived at about 1.40pm, declining to answer questions on his way in. Ted, 59, is said to be fighting for his life.

Beckham’s wife, former Spice Girls singer Victoria, was flying back to Britain from Japan, publicist Jo Milloy said.

Newspaper reports said that Ted was taken by ambulance to hospital after complaining of chest pains at his home in Chingford, east London, at 2120BST last night. He had suffered a heart attack and had to be resuscitated by paramedics in the ambulance on the way to hospital.

A spokesman for Whipps Cross Hospital was unable to say where he had been transferred to today and declined to comment on the nature of Mr Beckham's illness. It is hospital policy not to comment on individual patients without their consent or the consent of their family but, when asked whether Mr Beckham was a patient at the hospital, a spokesman said: "We have got a patient in hospital who is very unwell."

A spokesman for Barts and The London NHS Trust said today: "I can confirm that he is at the London Chest Hospital and is in a stable condition."

The footballer's father is also called David, but is known as Ted, which is short for his middle name, Edward. He is divorced from David's mother, Sandra, with whom he also has a daughter called Joanne.

Father and son reportedly fell out two years ago after Mr Beckham published a book called David Beckham: My Son, without getting David’s permission to write it. However, the pair are believed to have reconciled earlier this year.

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