London, Mar. 25 : England football star David Beckham gasped in horror yesterday as he shook an injured Royal Marine's hand - and it came off.

Becks went ghostly pale as he clutched the limb while Commando Ben McBean screamed: "My arm! My arm!"

But the star's shock turned to relief as onlookers howled with laughter and he realised he was holding Ben's prosthetic arm rather than a real one.

He chuckled, "You b******s!" before cracking up and adding: "I wasn't expecting that."

The gag came as AC Milan idol Becks, 33, greeted Ben at a special event where 30 brave members of the Forces spent the day with the England team.

Ben, 22, who was wounded by an explosion in Afghanistan, revealed he had pulled the same joke on skipper John Terry, chuckling: "The fake arm trick - it gets them every time."

The Marine was dubbed "Harry's Hero" after flying back to Britain on the same plane as Prince Harry following the blast in which he also lost a leg, reports The Sun. (ANI)