ThisisBigBrother.com - UK TV Forums - Beckham snubs young fans suffering from cancer

David Beckham has had a rocky welcome in Australia, after being accused of ignoring child cancer survivors waiting to greet him.

Kids mob star during China stopoverBut the 32-year-old former England skipper insisted he had not seen the children waiting for him outside his Sydney hotel.

He had arrived under police escort for an exhibition match with his LA Galaxy team after flying from London by private jet.

"I would never have done that. Never have done, never will do," said a surprised Beckham when journalists asked him why he had snubbed the youngsters.

"I'm more than willing to meet them wherever they want and at whatever time that they want," he insisted.

Fourteen-year-old leukaemia survivor Emma Byers was left in tears after failing to give the former Manchester United and Real Madrid superstar a toy kangaroo as a welcome present.

"I'm quite happy to accept that he didn't see the children. The kids were off to the side. The cameras were flashing. It was a bit dark," her mother Anita said.

"I'd like to think he's a gentleman. I'm sure that if that's what he says, that was the case."

Beckham's team is in Sydney for three days to play an exhibition match against Sydney FC, to be watched by a sell-out 80,000 crowd at Telstra Stadium on Tuesday night.

His arrival comes just days after England's shock 2-3 Euro 2008 defeat to Croatia on Wednesday which put them out of next year's competition, when he came on as a second-half substitute.

Meanwhile, Beckham is said to be forking out £25,000 to hire a Santa look-alike, complete with sleigh and real reindeer, to deliver presents for his and wife Victoria's three children Broooklyn, 8, Romeo, 5, and Cruz, 2, at their Hertfordshire mansion this Christmas.