Juliette Parsons always knew she had the perfect Romeo.

But now the recruitment consultant - known to all as Julie - may be prepared to forsake her true love if David Beckham comes calling.

For Julie, pictured, of Bolton, Bradford, boasts the registration number R8 MEO on her sporty Hyundai Coupe.

And she is now expected to be the envy of the England soccer captain and his wife Victoria after the birth of their latest child, named, of course, Romeo.

Now the 30-year-old who works for Advantage Recruitment in Shipley, and her partner Steve Rollinson are awaiting the call from the footballer who is known to have a penchant for fast cars and personalised plates.

Julie snapped up the registration back in 1997 when she worked for a motor firm. And, although Steve claimed she was being an "old romantic" when she picked the plate, she said it had been a stroke of good luck.

"I just liked it," she said. "At the time, personalised registration plates were all the rage. I picked it from a list of numbers, although me being called Juliette probably had something to do with it."

Initially the plate graced the Fiat van Steve uses for his firm, S and JR Decorating, before Julie fitted it to her metallic blue coupe.

"I used to get plenty of stick from the lads when I had it on the van," admitted Steve. "I think most people expect to see a handsome young man behind the wheel and they get a bit of a shock when they see either me or Julie."

But it was not until the latest Beckham arrival that the plate really started getting noticed.

The couple have been bombarded with Beckham quips and inquiries - and admitted the whole thing had come as a huge surprise.

"My jaw just hit the floor when I heard the news," said Steve. "Who would have thought they could have named their son Romeo?"

Now the couple are bracing themselves for a flood of big money offers for their prize asset.

"We have never considered selling it before," said Steve. "It is something very personal and Julie loves it, but I suppose money talks at the end of the day!"

Today Louise Pierpoint, PR manager for the DVLA in Swansea, said Julie's registration plate was the closest match to the baby's name anywhere in the UK.

She said. "A plate such as this would be worth several thousand pounds before all this interest, and we would expect that to increase quite a lot now. I think we would probably be looking at something like double that value."