Gazza’s plea to thieves who robbed him: Give me back Dad’s things
PAUL Gascoigne has begged thieves who stole £ 140,000 of treasured belongings from his home to return those handed down by his dad.
The burglars struck after the former football star was pictured in a TV studio by his friend Piers Morgan.
Police are investigating the possibility that the raiders saw the photo on Twitter and realised Gazza, 53, was away from his flat in Dorset.
Their loot included a cigar cutter and gold watch passed on to him after his dad John, 72, died from cancer in 2018. Also taken was a £ 40,000 diamond- encrusted watch Paul bought with his first Spurs pay cheque, a Championship medal from Rangers FC and a New York Police Department badge.
Former England star Paul said: “My dad’s belongings mean so much to me. Please return them. I’d give someone the shirt off my back if they needed it. I’ve always been like that. But I’d really like these back.”
At the time of the raid last Monday Paul was in the audience to support his friend Vinnie Jones, who was being interviewed in London on Piers’ Life Stories series. The show was broadcast on Saturday night, with both ex- footballers, who used to be foes, in tears as they lauded each other.
Gazza said: “Police believe the picture Piers posted of us filming could have alerted burglars that I was away, but I
guess we’ll never know. But they must have been hungry – they took my two steaks out of the freezer.” He added: “It was when I noticed the cigar cutters that it hit me. “Knowing they’d stolen those and one of the watches being my dad’s that I was given after he died, I’d break down crying.
“They’ve also gone through lots of personal stuff, read the poems I’ve written to myself, even looked through my will.
“The thing I find really hard is, I’m always nice to everybody, always giving presents. I’d say I might be hesitant to carry on being nice but it doesn’t matter now because they have taken everything.”