Gazza arrested for second time in two days 09/02/2010 - 12:30:13
Former England football star Paul Gascoigne has been arrested for the second time in two days.
The ex-Newcastle United and Tottenham midfielder was taken into custody along with another man by police called to the Blackwell Grange Hotel in Darlington on Monday night.
The 42-year-old – who has faced a long battle with alcoholism and depression - was later released without charge after being questioned on suspicion of a public order offence.
The men had been arrested the previous night on suspicion of being drunk in charge of a vehicle in North Yorkshire.
They were released on bail on Monday evening over the incident at a takeaway in Leeming Bar, North Yorkshire, but were soon back in custody after staff at the hotel called the police.
Gascoigne was freed without further action, but the second man, aged 40, was given a fixed penalty notice.
A Durham Police spokesman said: “At 8.10pm we received a call from the Blackwell Grange Hotel where staff reported an ongoing incident involving Paul Gascoigne and his friend, Michael Harvey.
“Both were arrested and taken to Darlington police station.
“Both were subsequently released. No further action was taken against Mr Gascoigne and the other man accepted a fixed penalty notice for a public order offence.”
Gazza, who was sectioned three times under the Mental Health Act in 2008, 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.
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 last year.
He told BBC Radio 5 Live’s Victoria Derbyshire he had been clean of drink and drugs for four months, working the 12 Steps Programme and attending Alcoholics Anonymous.
However, in December last year, he was handed a fixed penalty notice for being drunk and disorderly after being arrested in Newcastle.
