Gazza avoids jail for drink driving

Troubled former England star Paul Gascoigne avoided jail on Thursday despite being caught driving drunk.

The 43-year-old former Newcastle, Tottenham, Lazio and Rangers midfielder was given an eight-week sentence, suspended for a year, when he appeared at Newcastle Magistrates’ Court on Thursday.

He was arrested in the city’s Jesmond suburb when officers spotted him driving an MG sportscar erratically.

He was found to have 142 mg of alcohol in 100 ml of breath — more than four times over the limit of 35mg — when he was tested in October.

Gascoigne admitted drink-driving at a hearing in October and was warned then that he could be jailed.

On that occasion, District Judge Stephen Earl told him he faced 12 weeks in jail.

Gascoigne was due to be sentenced last month but failed to appear as he had checked himself into an alcohol clinic.

On Thursday, he was also banned from driving for three years and given an alcohol treatment order.

A separate drink-drive charge, which Gascoigne denies, will be heard next week.

Considered one of England’s most talented players, Gazza, as he is known, has struggled with alcohol and depression in recent years.