No truth in Gazza death rumours say police
12:00am Thursday 25th September 2008
Comments (3)
RUMOURS that Paul Gascoigne has been found dead tonight have led to police taking the unusual step of stating they believe nothing untoward has happened to him.
The troubled former England and Newcastle United footballer has been in the headlines with regularity over recent months following various drink-related incidents and there has been concern for his welfare.
However, readers began to inundate The Northern Echo newsdesk last night claiming that Gazza had been found dead in a hotel.
Football club supporters sites and online betting forums were also a hotbed of gossip, with people claiming to know the location where Gascoigne had been found. One person even went so far as to post a video on YouTube saying the story was "100 per cent" accurate.
Some people named the Marriott Hotel, close to the MetroCentre in Newcastle, as the location, but a call to the hotel led to a forthright denial, with a member of staff saying that Gascoigne had neither been found dead, nor was he a guest.
It is understood that calls to Northumbria Police suggesting Gascoigne had been found in two separate locations in Scotland were also followed up, but neither were found to be true.
Late last night, the volume of calls prompted the force to issue a statement.
A spokesman said: "We have had several media calls this evening concerning former footballer Paul Gascoigne. This is to confirm that we have had no reported incidents concerning Mr Paul Gascoigne and our checks to date give us no cause for concern about him."
Last week, the 41-year-old was detained by police after an incident in Gateshead, in which a fan claimed his mobile phone had been broken.
There were also allegations of an altercation with a freelance photographer.
He had been involved in a disturbance outside The Metz Experience pub.
The previous day he had been pictured in national newspapers repeatedly banging on the doors and windows of the same pub at 9.45am.
Your Say YourThe Northern Echo
gazzad, newcastle says...
3:02am Thu 25 Sep 08
Fozz, Murton, Co Durham says...
4:55pm Fri 26 Sep 08
Paul Gascoigne tries to get into a pub at 9.45am last week
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two tone, darlington says...
12:40am Thu 25 Sep 08