Appeal for privacy as fears grow for Gazza’s safety

PAUL GASCOIGNE’S stepdaughter said yesterday it was “a sad situation” that the England hero was detained under the Mental Health Act.

Bianca Gascoigne’s comments came as her stepfather was placed on suicide watch at a secure psychiatric unit after being sectioned.

The former England striker was locked up after two months of increasingly bizarre behaviour while living at a hotel in his home town of Gateshead.

He is reported to have grabbed a hotel porter by the throat after setting off a fire alarm in the early hours of Wednesday.

Previously he had been spotted walking round the £240 (€318)-a-night hotel clutching battery-operated parrots, which he made talk to fellow guests.

His stepdaughter Bianca said that, while she had not seen her stepfather “for some time”, her thoughts were with him.

And she appealed for Gascoigne to be allowed his privacy as he recovers.

Ms Gascoigne said: “Obviously there has been a lot of speculation in the news lately about my dad.

“It is a sad situation that has had an impact on my family and he needs respect and privacy at this time to get back to good health.”

Staff at the Malmaison described him as a “potential menace” and guests reportedly felt threatened by Gascoigne’s increasingly eccentric behaviour.

The footballer is said to have answered his door naked and used room service to order plates of raw liver, which he claimed were good for the blood.

The hotel was forced to evacuate guests and call the police on Wednesday after fire alarms were set off in the early hours.

A hotel spokesman said the former England footballer “was picked up by his sister and then he went to the Hilton”.

He was later “escorted peacefully away” from the Hilton Hotel by police and was taken to St George Hospital near Darlington.

A source at the Malmaison said: “Gazza set off all the alarms and everyone in the hotel got up and had to go on the Quayside.

“The night porter was trying to get Gazza to leave the hotel because they were kicking him out and Gazza grabbed him by the neck and started choking him.”

Malmaison spokesman Nigel Massey said: “There was a bit of grabbing and a bit of verbal but I’m told the porter is fine.”

He denied suggestions that a knife was used in the altercation.

Gascoigne had spent 12 nights at the hotel recuperating after a hip operation. Staff said the 40-year-old, had behaved in a bizarre manner during his stay. One said: “He’s always out of it, he’s off his head on drink. He’s obviously not well.”

After a series of highly publicised binges in 1998, Gascoigne was admitted to a private clinic to tackle the alcohol addiction.

He has not worked in football since an unsuccessful stint as manager of non-league Kettering Town in 2005.