David Beckham's tattooist is threatening to sue him over the ownership of the designs.

Louis Molloy says he will take legal action if Becks uses the images in an ad campaign, reports the Mirror.

Louis, 42, who runs a studio in Manchester, says he came up with designs such as the guardian angel on Becks' back.

He recalls: "David described a tattoo he'd seen of an upright figure, along the lines of a crucifix.

"I decided on the image of a diver at the Olympics standing on the high board with his arms outstretched.

"I couldn't find a relevant picture so I got an book on anatomy and basically pieced it all together. I added a pair of wings, showed the design to him and he loved it."

But a source close to Becks told the Mirror: "What he doesn't appear to realise is that no one would be interested in his tattoos if David wasn't wearing them."

And a spokesman for the star insisted: "As far as we're concerned there are no issues."