Paul Gascoigne train kiss trial: Star in ‘drunken state’ when arrested
The ex-footballer was drinking beer in a hotel lobby when he was arrested, a jury hears. …
Image copyright PA Media Ex-England footballer Paul Gascoigne was in an “intoxicated, drunken state” when he was arrested for kissing a woman on a train, a court has heard.
The 52-year-old is accused of an “unpleasant” sex assault on the service from York to Newcastle in August 2018.
British Transport Police PC Robert Moody told Teesside Crown Court Mr Gascoigne was drinking beer at a hotel when he arrived to arrest him.
The former player denies a charge of sexual assault by touching.
On the second day of a trial, PC Moody explained how he arrested Mr Gascoigne at the Jesmond Dene Hotel in Newcastle some hours after the incident on the train.
‘Help a fat lass’
He said he had spoken to Mr Gascoigne prior to travelling to the hotel, telling jurors how Gascoigne said: “I know what it’s about, I kissed a fat lass.”
PC Moody said that when he got to the hotel, he saw Mr Gascoigne sat in the foyer in an “intoxicated, drunken state” with a glass of beer in his hand.
He said that, after the defendant had been arrested, he told a custody sergeant: “All I was doing was trying to help a fat lass.”
Earlier the court was told the former Newcastle United, Tottenham Hotspur, Rangers, Middlesbrough and Everton midfielder “forcefully and sloppily” kissed the woman on the lips while drunk on the train and that she was left “shocked and upset”.
The jury heard that after his arrest, Mr Gascoigne, who now lives in Leicester, told police it was “a peck on the lips” and indicated he did not consider it a serious matter.
The court heard Mr Gascoigne claimed he had kissed her to “boost her confidence” after he said other passengers had been teasing her about her build.
Describing the alleged offence as a “blatant act”, the prosecutor added that it was “humiliating” for the woman involved, who cannot be identified, adding: “Perhaps it was him showing off.”
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