'I thought my Rolex was listening to me,' Paul Gascoigne reveals extent of his paranoia during drugs battle

Paul Gascoigne has revealed that he threw a Rolex watch out of a window at the height of his drugs addition because he thought it was "listening" to him.

The former Newcastle and England footballer spoke to Alastair Campbell in GQ magazine about the "unbelievable" paranoia he suffered when he was regularly taking cocaine a decade ago.

He said: "I thought my lighter was listening to us. I had a Rolex and I threw it out the window because I thought it was listening to us."

The star, who was born and raised in Dunston, Gateshead, said he had gone years at a time without a drink but embarked on "a one-day bender" in April.

He said he prays every day to stay sober and likened being in rehab to his playing days, saying that was the "only time I felt free".

He said: "When I am like this, happy and sober, and I've got my golf and my fishing, they can't touch me. I am happy when I don't have a drink."

The full interview appears in the August issue of GQ out on Thursday.