Paul Gascoigne has revealed details about a hit and run incident he was involved in before he exploded onto the scene at Newcastle United. The legendary forward has recently released a new book reflecting on the peaks and valleys of his career. Whilst many of the anecdotes are already well-known, having previously surfaced in the media or been recounted by Gascoigne and his team-mates, the England icon has now disclosed a peculiar tale involving him striking a pedestrian with his vehicle whilst giving some women a ride home with a friend.
Both he and his close companion Jimmy Gardiner, with whom he frequently found himself in trouble, were brought before police and the courts after Gascoigne’s car collided with a man crossing the street, before fleeing the scene in a state of panic. This incident occurred whilst he was breaking into Newcastle’s first team, with various Magpies icons already hailing him as St James’ Park’s emerging talent.
Writing in his book, which has been serialised by the Daily Mail, Gascoigne revealed: “I soon became the hottest property in football with every club in the country wanting me, despite my daft antics off the pitch.
“My partner in crime was often my best mate Jimmy Gardiner, or Jimmy Five Bellies as I nicknamed him because he was the same height as me but about 30 stone heavier.
“The first time I got into trouble with the police was when Jimmy persuaded me to give some girls a lift home in my Mini, even though I still hadn’t got my licence.
“I ended up knocking over this guy as he crossed the road in front of me. I stopped the car, rushed over and I could see he was moving – I hadn’t killed him, at least. But then I just panicked and drove off.
“I mustn’t have been thinking straight and was also terrified of getting into trouble with Newcastle United. I know I shouldn’t have done it, but I got a snooker cue and I smashed the windows of my car in, thinking I would pretend someone else had been driving it.
“But that didn’t wash with the police when they tracked me down. Me and Jimmy had to go to court over that. We were fined and given points on our licences, even though I didn’t have one yet.”
The drama wasn’t finished for Gascoigne. After the authorities had dealt with him and delivered their light punishment, Newcastle’s hierarchy had their own message they wanted to deliver.
Luckily, there was one element which may have stopped the Magpies from ridding themselves of Gascoigne and his behaviour.
He continued: “The worst thing was I got a dressing down from Gordon McKeag, the Newcastle United chairman. ‘If anything like this happens again, you’re out,’ he told me.
“But it would have been very difficult for them to let me go, especially with the likes of club legend Jackie Milburn raving about me on TV. ‘I think it’s about 35 years since I’ve seen a kid as good as what this lad is, and I just can’t believe the skills of him,’ he said.
“‘He’s got everything, everything. He sticks out a mile. There’s no holding him, he is the best in the world.’ I couldn’t get over it when I heard that. I just went, ‘Wow.’ I couldn’t believe someone as special as Jackie thought so highly of me.”