Gascoigne arrested for alleged drunken assault

Former England football star Paul Gascoigne has been arrested on suspicion of a drunken assault at a railway station but was later released without charge, police said Friday.

The 46-year-old, who was taken to hospital earlier this year after being treated at a US rehabilitation clinic, was arrested on Thursday in Stevenage, north of London.

"Police were called to a report of a man allegedly being drunk and disorderly at Stevenage railway station at 10:30pm on Thursday July 4," said a spokeswoman for Hertfordshire police.

"Officers attended the location and arrested a 46-year-old male on suspicion of common assault and being drunk and disorderly."

The former former Newcastle, Tottenham and Lazio midfielder was taken into custody but was not charged, police added.

The Daily Mirror newspaper reported that during the incident he had held a security guard by the throat and turned on his ex-wife Sheryl when she tried to step in. Police did not confirm the details.

Gascoigne has struggled with alcoholism for years and was sectioned under Britain's mental health laws in 2008.

He was treated at a clinic in Arizona at a cost of around $30,000 for a two-month stay earlier this year after his agent said he needed help following a charity appearance in which Gascoigne appeared to be visibly unwell and shaking.

Gascoigne said in March that his relapse was because he was "bored."