Paul Gascoigne arrested for being drunk and disorderly

Rod Minchin,Press Association
Wednesday 16 December 2009 15:21 GMT
Paul Gascoigne spoke recently about how he was getting his life back on track.
Paul Gascoigne spoke recently about how he was getting his life back on track.

Former England football star Paul Gascoigne was today arrested for being drunk and disorderly, police said.

The former Newcastle United and Tottenham Hotspur midfielder was taken into custody in the early hours of the morning following a disturbance in the Jesmond area of Newcastle.

Gascoigne, 42, who has faced a long battle with alcohol, was arrested at about 2.15am after police arrived at Jesmond Park West.

He was later taken to a police station before receiving a fixed penalty notice for being drunk and disorderly.

The spokeswoman could not confirm how much the notice was for but fines are set at £50 and £80 depending on the seriousness of the offence.

Gazza spoke recently about how he was getting his life back on track.

He has been supporting Newcastle and Gateshead's joint bid to be host cities for the 2018 World Cup, travelling to Wembley in November with former teammates Peter Beardsley and Alan Shearer.

He spoke then of his debt to Beardsley, 48, for helping him battle back from alcoholism and depression.

He said Beardsley, who now works as a coach at Newcastle United's youth academy, had invited him to training sessions and had been helping keep his fridge stocked with milk and groceries instead of booze.

Gazza, 42, said the daily routine of the training sessions had given him a new lease of life and that he'd soon begin studying for his coaching badges.

The former England hero, who played at Newcastle, Spurs, Lazio, Rangers, Middlesbrough and in China, went public about his continuing battle with addiction in March.

He told BBC Radio 5 Live's Victoria Derbyshire he had been clean of drink or drugs for four months, working the 12 steps programme and attending alcoholics anonymous.

He said: "In the past every time I left rehab I thought I'm going to have a drink and I had no thought of that this time.

"I am a different Paul now.

"Now, when I wake up in the morning I know what I did yesterday; what I did last night; I know what I'm going to do that day. I'm not rushing anything; I'm just enjoying being myself."

Gazza was sectioned three times under the mental health act last year.

He has described how when he hit rock bottom he was taking cocaine and drinking a litre of gin a day, which left him delusional and afraid to leave his room.

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