Jump to content

Gazza arrives back in UK


Recommended Posts

Paul%20Gascoigne%20at%20Phoenix%20International%20airport%20in%20Arizona,%20where%20he%20caught%20a%20flight%20back%20to%20the%20U.K%20after%20receiving%20help%20for%20alcoholism%20at%20-1753788.jpg

"This time I won’t let people down": Paul Gascoigne's vow after 28-day “high-intensity” rehab

9 Mar 2013 23:00

Gazza left the £6,000-per-week clinic after astonishing medics there with his progress and flew back to Britain today

Paul Gascoigne said his dad is his best hope to help him beat his booze problems as he flew back to Britain today.

The ex-England footballer, who left a US clinic yesterday, said at Heathrow airport: “I feel absolutely fantastic and this time I won’t let people down.

"I am determined to beat this.”

Looking tanned but tired after his long flight, Gazzadeclared: “I am glad to be home and going to Newcastle, where my dad will look after me.

“My dad John is my best hope and will be there for me.”

Paul, 45, left the £6,000-per-week Meadows Clinic in Phoenix, Arizona, after astonishing medics there with his progress.

Gazza told a fellow passenger: “I feel like I am in a good place. It’s going to work this time. I want it to work more than I ever have done in the past.”

The passenger said: “Paul sat with a friend. He was subdued, and not ­drinking. It looked like he was doing really well considering what he has been through.”

Cassie Woolums, 17, from Phoenix, who was also on the flight, said: “He was with another man and they were chatting. He was really friendly and seemed happy.”

After he touched down Gazza was whisked to a VIP suite and avoided photographers and well-wishers. The star left the airport in a friend’s car.

Paul was allowed to leave the clinic after a 28-day “high-intensity” detox programme.

He called friends and spoke to John, 67, before boarding his flight.

A pal of Gazza said: “Paul sounded ­absolutely amazing. He was laughing and joking and seemed really happy – it was like having the old Paul back.

“He sounded like he had regained some of his zest for life. There was a massive contrast with what he was like before he went to America.”

The friend added: “Paul absolutely startled the clinic staff with his progress and they were really happy with him. He took their breath away.”

Gazza will move in with John at his home in Dunston, Gateshead, after first returning to his flat in Bournemouth.

The star has previously sought refuge with his father, and returned to his home after he was released from a mental ward in 2008.

A friend of the former Newcastle, Tottenham and Glasgow Rangers star said: “Paul says John is his biggest ally.

"He has looked after Paul in the past and will do everything for him.

“Paul will live with John, and his mum Carol who is ­divorced from him but lives on the same road.”

The pal said Paul’s best friend Jimmy “Five Bellies” Gardner will also be ­looking after him.

The pal added: “Paul wants to do simple things with his dad, like making shepherd’s pies and steak and kidney pies.

"He wants to do normal things like hang around in the Metro Centre in Newcastle and going to the gym.

"He feels he will be able to live his life in Newcastle and get his health back.”

The pal added: “John is over the moon that he has got Paul back and he seems to be well.

"He thought he had lost him before he went to America and might end up mourning his death.

“He hopes he has got his son back.”

As the Sunday Mirror revealed last week, Paul has found strength from the promising football career of his young nephew Cameron.

Before his meltdown, Paul regularly travelled from Bournemouth to Tyneside to watch Cameron – sister Lindsay’s son – play for Newcastle United under-11s.

His friend said: “The Cameron issue is at the forefront of his mind.

“Paul really wants to see ­Cameron play, and to help him develop as a footballer.

"That thought helped him get well and will give him focus now as he tries to get back to normality.”

The former player is also considering becoming a football coach once he ­regains his health.

Paul was tonight back at his rented flat in Boscombe, Bournemouth, where he lived after attending a clinic. He ­arrived with two friends.

The former star suffered a public meltdown at an after-dinner event in Northampton on January 31.

The Sunday Mirror’s shocking pictures of drunken, shambolic Gazza prompted pals to pay for his therapy in the US.

Now the star wants to leave the South Coast town to be with his family on Tyneside.

He has told a pal: “Where I was living in Bournemouth was crazy. I could not even go out for a fag without people bothering me.”

A friend added: “In Newcastle it is different – people see him as one of their own. They leave him be but would look after him if they needed to.”

The friend said Gazza will rely on his therapist Johnny Mac, who co-wrote the star’s autobiography in 2004.

The pal said: “Johnny will do his best to help him. He’s going to try to take over his care to a large extent now.”

Paul’s friend and former representative Matthew Jones said: “This is the start of a long road for Paul and he knows that.

"All his friends and family are there for him.”

http://www.mirror.co...lcohol-1753806?

Wish him the best of luck.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

  • Upcoming Events

    No upcoming events found
×
×
  • Create New...