Gascoigne escapes drink-driving trial over van as charges dropped

Gascoigne, 43, who played for Newcastle United and Tottenham, was due to appear at Northallerton Magistrates’ Court next week after police charged him with driving under the influence at Leeming Bar, last February.

But yesterday court officials confirmed the case against Gascoigne has been dropped.

The former England midfielder, who has battled with drink and drug problems for a number of years since retiring from the game, had always denied driving the van while over the legal limit and driving without insurance and the trial has been adjourned four times in the past year.

At his last court appearance, Gascoigne ended up representing himself after his lawyer, Stephen Andrews, withdrew from the case.

His co-accused, Michael Harvey, 41, of Wood Street, Gateshead, is still set to go on trial for drink-driving, driving without insurance and driving while disqualified.

Magistrates have been told Harvey had 259 milligrams of alcohol in 100 millilitres of urine.

In December, Gascoigne was given an eight-week sentence, suspended for a year, for driving while drunk in Newcastle.

He was given the sentence when he appeared at Newcastle Magistrates’ Court, which heard he was arrested in the city after police spotted him driving an MG erratically.

Gascoigne was found to have 142mg of alcohol in 100ml of breath – the legal limit is 35mg – when he was tested in the early hours of October 8.

He was banned from driving for three years and given an alcohol treatment order.

The court heard Gascoigne had been in a rehabilitation clinic on the south coast.

A district judge was told he had been responding well to treatment at the centre in Dorset and attended Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous meetings.