Nine people have been arrested in connection with an alleged conspiracy to kidnap Victoria Beckham and seek a �5m ransom.

Four men and one woman were arrested in two separate raids in London on Saturday morning by officers from Scotland Yard's Serious and Organised Crime Command unit, known as SO7.

Another four people, including a second woman, were arrested in further operations conducted late on Saturday and early on Sunday, police said.

It's clear these people were serious and that, of course, has scared the life out of me

Victoria Beckham

Victoria Beckham - married to Manchester United and England footballer David Beckham - said she was in "absolute and total shock" at the revelations.

Scotland Yard acted after receiving information from a Sunday newspaper about an alleged plan.

The nine are being held at unnamed police stations across London, where they are being questioned about conspiracy to kidnap and theft.

At least five of those being held are understood to be Romanian or Albanian.

One of the raids was armed and in London's Docklands area, while another was on a residential premises in Morden, south London.

'Terrifying'

The News of the World said undercover reporters had infiltrated a gang of art thieves and discovered they were also planning to kidnap the former Spice Girl.

She told the newspaper: "It's clear these people were serious and that, of course, has scared the life out of me.

"It's terrifying to think that someone would want to do that to you and your children."

The family has been the target of a kidnap plot before

She said she would be talking to her security team, adding: "But if people want to do this to my family how can you be 100% sure you'll prevent it?"

News of the World managing editor Stuart Kuttner told BBC News 24 his reporters had become extremely close to the gang of art thieves, with one "recruited as a potential getaway driver".

He said the gang would have been happy to kidnap the couple's two young sons, three-year-old Brooklyn and baby Romeo, as well.

"The plan was to kidnap Victoria Beckham, to take with her either or both the children if perchance they were with her... to secrete them in a safe house and to demand a ransom of �5m," he said.

The paper said the gang planned to sedate Victoria with a chemical spray and hold her in a house in Brixton, south London.

Deputy editor Andy Coulson said the plans were fairly well formed.

Previous threat

"They knew where they were going to carry out the kidnap, they knew how, they knew when," he said.

Detective chief superintendent John Coles, the head of SO7, said: "We are very grateful to the News of the World for their actions in this case which have assisted in the recovery of a number of valuable items and in preventing any other offences."

Mrs Beckham was told of the plot before watching her England captain husband play at Old Trafford on Saturday afternoon.

She did not tell her husband until after the match.

News of the World has been praised by police

It is not the first time the Beckhams have been targeted.

In January 2000 a plot emerged to snatch Mrs Beckham and her son Brooklyn while her husband was playing for England in a match at Wembley was foiled by police.

The celebrity family were moved to a safe house for 48 hours, but no arrests were made because the kidnappers never got past the planning stage, and left no written evidence.

After the first kidnapping incident, Victoria told Michael Parkinson on his chat show the couple had hired a bodyguard for Brooklyn.

"It's something that's really worrying, that's every parent's worst nightmare, something happening to their child. That's scary," she said.