Paul Gascoigne recalls Raoul Moat 'fishing rod' incident

England legend Paul Gascoigne has admitted that he is baffled by his attempts to calm down killer gunman Raoul Moat.

The 45-year-old had claimed that he could reason with Moat, who shot his ex-girlfriend, murdered her boyfriend and blinded PC David Rathband, when police were in a stand-off with the gunman in Rothbury, Northumberland in 2010.

Gascoigne, who visited the scene with a fishing rod, lagers and chicken, has admitted that his drunken state made him think that he knew Moat.

"I don't know what the f*** I was doing," Gascoigne told The Sun. "A f****** fishing rod and a chicken? What was that about? Fishing has helped me when I've been in a bad place and I must have thought it'd be the same for him.

"I'd been drinking and saw the Moat story flash up on the news. Without thinking I decided I needed to go and help him.

"I've brought him a fishing rod, some chicken and a six-pack and got in the back of a taxi with it all. I thought, 'Moaty won't shoot me, I'm good friends with him'. I thought I knew him, but I'd been drinking."

Gascoigne recently returned to the UK from a five-week stint at a US rehab centre near Phoenix, Arizona.