Paul Gascoigne drink-driving case adjourned

A court case involving the former England footballer Paul Gascoigne was today adjourned until next month because he has checked into rehab. Gascoigne is said to be attending a clinic on the south coast. The 43-year-old was due to appear before Newcastle magistrates court after he admitted driving while four times over the drink-driving limit last month. District judge Stephen Earl adjourned the case until 9 December after hearing that Gascoigne had voluntarily checked himself into the clinic. At an earlier hearing, the court was told the ex-footballer was found to have 142mg of alcohol in 100ml of breath. The limit is 35mg. The judge warned Gascoigne that all options "up to and including a custodial sentence" were open. At the last hearing, he said a sentence of 12 weeks could be appropriate before adjourning the case for probation service reports. Gascoigne – a former Newcastle United, Spurs, Lazio, Rangers, Middlesbrough and Everton player – was caught driving an MG car erratically by police in Jesmond, Newcastle, at 2.45pm on 8 October.