Men in Bradford will have to start polishing up their act if they want to follow in the footsteps of footballing ace David Beckham.

For the England captain, who once turned heads by wearing a sarong, has sparked a demand for nail varnish for men after he was pictured with pink painted fingernails.

The surge in sales puzzled staff at Big W in Girlington until they heard about the new trend to buff it like Beckham.

Jackie Cotton, store manager, said: "We have had a big uptake of nail varnish recently and it seems to be both men and women buying it.

"I think it's great although I'm not sure my other half would agree. But it shows men are well-groomed and we all know that David Beckham likes to make a statement."

Becks showed off his tinted talons at the christening of Liz Hurley's baby, donned silvery-black varnish for a cover shoot for GQ magazine and was rumoured to have worn nail polish for a pre-World Cup England team visit to Downing Street.

Mick Kemp, 26, a supply manager for Big W, sportingly applied the darker shade akin to stars like Robbie Williams and Ozzy Osbourne to check out the reaction of customers.

He said: "I personally wouldn't wear it. But I think it's good that men are starting to look after their hands, there is no reason why they shouldn't.

"I admire Beckham for his football skills and he got away with the sarong so he'll come out of this okay."

Some shoppers admired his black fingertips while the more macho looked aghast. But according to experts in beauty at Bradford College it is a progression for the already well-groomed.

Julia Leone, one of the course tutors who used to own a nail salon, said: "We have always done manicures for men, with buffing to put a sheen on but not a gloss.

"Men should look after their hands as much as women, nail care for men is as essential as it is for women, you can't have people at the forefront of business with broken nails because it doesn't look good."

"I suppose polish is just one step further, its probably not a new thing but men would keep it low key as it would allude to a more feminine side."

Anne Meek, course tutor in advanced beauty therapies and media, said she was not surprised at the footballing superstar's bold statement.

She said: "It is quite typical of him because he is an exhibitionist, I'm not sure it will become popular but you do get men wearing nail polish these days."

US-based cosmetics firm Hard Candy has marketed nail varnish for men in "masculine" metallic shades of purple, black, blue, green and gold with names like Gigolo and Testosterone.

Celebrities including Lenny Kravitz, Antonio Banderas and Quentin Tarantino have all been spotted wearing nail polish.