Gazza fined £1k for drunken assault

Former England midfielder Paul Gascoigne has been fined £1,000 after he admitted common assault and drunk and disorderly charges linked to an incident at a railway station.

Gascoigne, who has battled alcoholism for many years, was fined £600 for one charge of assault and £400 for a drunk and disorderly charge.

He was also ordered to pay £100 in compensation to ticket collector Jack Sherrington, who he assaulted, court costs of £85 and a victim surcharge of £60.

The former Newcastle and Tottenham midfielder, who lives in Gateshead, was arrested after officers were called to Stevenage rail station in Hertfordshire at around 10.30pm on July 4.

Gascoigne, 46, who received treatment for his alcohol addiction in an American clinic earlier this year, was originally charged with two counts of assault, one involving his ex-wife Sheryl, but that charge was dropped.

Gascoigne, clutching a packet of cigarettes and wearing a dark suit, pale blue shirt, beige loafers with no socks and sunglasses, was greeted outside Stevenage Magistrates' Court by a media scrum.

The packed courtroom looked on as the former playmaker, who also had spells at Rangers and Lazio, listened to the charges being read to him and entered guilty pleas to assault and drunk and disorderly in a public place.

Gascoigne clutched his mobile phone throughout the court appearance.