AFP/Poole
Troubled former England star Paul Gascoigne has been taken to hospital after being found slumped outside his home clutching a bottle of gin, a British newspaper yesterday.
The Daily Mirror said the 47-year-old Gascoigne, who faces eviction from his luxury flat in Poole on England’s south coast because of complaints by neighbours, had phoned a friend asking: “I’m in trouble, please can you come and help me?”
It carried pictures of a gaunt-looking Gascoigne being helped into an ambulance by police and paramedics.
Since retiring from top-level football, former midfielder Gascoigne—who played for Newcastle, Tottenham Hotspur, Italian giants Lazio and Glasgow Rangers, as well as helping England reach the semi-finals of the 1990 World Cup, has suffered with alcoholism problems and has had several spells in treatment clinics, most recently in January.
He last played professionally a decade ago when he made five appearances for then English fourth-tier club Boston United.
Gascoigne was fined £1,000 (1,250 euros) by British magistrates last August after assaulting a railway guard who tried to stop him falling on to the line while drunk.
His latest health scare came after it emerged he had been signed up to play for a local non-league Sunday side.
Chris Foster, the manager of Abbey FC, is also a taxi driver who has picked up Gascoigne on several occasions.
“I have picked him up a few times and spoken to him about signing for us. Although he laughed it off, he didn’t say no,” Foster told the Bournemouth Daily Echo on Thursday.
“I dropped him off at his flat a couple of weeks ago and he asked me to go to the shop to get him some cigarettes. When I got back, I was invited in and we had a good chat about various things.
“I gave him the cigarettes and pulled out the signing-on form at the same time. He signed it there and then. I was chuffed to bits and ran to the car as fast as I could,” Foster added.
Meanwhile, Gascoigne’s daughter today thanked fans for their support as her troubled father was pictured being taken to hospital after apparently being found slumped outside his home.
His glamour model daughter, Bianca, was flooded with messages of support on Twitter as news of the incident emerged.
And the 27-year-old wrote today: “Thank you for your kind words,” as she faced the latest pictures of her father looking gaunt and unsteady.
Witnesses called the emergency services after becoming concerned for his safety. He spent the night at Poole Hospital.
One told The Sun: “He was extremely drunk and in a very sorry state. He was a danger to himself. He was in a really bad way.”
A friend of the former England star said he was being evicted from his £3million flat in the upmarket Sandbanks area of Poole after his landlord received complaints about noise from his neighbours.
“It is very sad. But the reality is Paul has been drinking for the past few weeks and once that happens things will only end one way,” the friend said.
“Today things came to a head. He has had a lot on his plate as he is in the process of trying to find somewhere to live.
“His landlord had given him 10 days to get out of the flat and it was weighing on his mind. Obviously things became too much for him in the past couple of days and he has turned back to the bottle.”
Fallen idol Gazza, who famously wept as England lost the 1990 World Cup semi-final in Italy, has been in and out of rehab and hospital since 1998.
Last year, friends including DJ Chris Evans, cricketer Ronnie Irani and ex team-mate Gary Lineker clubbed together to help pay for rehab as his condition deteriorated.
A gaunt Paul Gascoigne is escorted to an ambulance after he was found slumped outside his home.
