ENGLAND footballer Steven Gerrard yesterday apologised for lashing out three times at a man in a bar brawl, saying he mistakenly believed he was about to attack him.

Two footballers were charged today in connection with the same nightclub brawl which saw Steven Gerrard accused of assault.

Bomb disposal experts in the North have defused an explosive device found around 10 miles from Portadown, Co Armagh, yesterday.