She is rumoured to be a bit of a handful. But on this occasion, Naomi Campbell was more like a full armload of trouble.

The supermodel almost tumbled to the ground after a night out with friends in Italy on Wednesday.

Luckily, there was a man on hand to catch her. But the fellow - who was not quite as tall as the statuesque Miss Campbell - appeared to be struggling with his burden.

At one point, he seemed about to drop the giggling bundle of flailing limbs and flying hair.

Enlarge 

Superhuman effort: Miss Campbell's friend tries to stop her from slithering towards the ground

Success: The knight in shining armour hauls the supermodel upright

The London-born model and her party had arrived on the island of Capri by boat earlier that day, and entered a nightclub at 1am.

They eventually left in high spirits at 3am and shortly afterwards Miss Campbell had her little fall. Once she had regained her composure, the group headed off into the night, leaving behind some amused onlookers.

'We heard a little shriek and turned around,' said one. 'She was close to having a very embarrassing moment indeed, but managed to laugh it off though.' But a spokesman for Miss Campbell denied that she fell. 'Naomi was just joking around with friends,' the spokesman said. 'She was pretending to fall to see who would catch her.'

The model, who recently turned 38, was pictured in Cannes last month crying at her birthday party. And two weeks ago she was charged over an alleged air rage incident at Heathrow airport last month.

In 1993, Miss Campbell famously fell on the catwalk while modelling a pair of 10in Vivienne Westwood platform shoes. She collapsed into a fit of giggles on that occasion too.