Paul Gascoigne pledges to pay tax debts

Former England football star Paul Gascoigne promised at the High Court today to pay off his debts to the taxman to avoid the threat of being made bankrupt.

Deputy Registrar Clive Jones agreed to adjourn a petition for bankruptcy for six weeks to give the 43-year-old the chance to pay the more than £30,000 owed to Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs.

Inderjit Singh Ahluwalia, representing HMRC, said this would be the final chance to avoid bankruptcy by Gascoigne, who was not in court and was represented by a financial adviser.

Gascoigne was ordered to pay £28,000 by March 2 and the remainder before the case returns to court.