PAUL GASCOIGNE HAS settled with Mirror Group Newspapers for £188,000 (€264,000) over having his phone hacked.
The former footballer is just one of a number of celebrities to reach settlements today at London’s High Court.
Others who were awarded payments include actress Sadie Frost and Eastenders stars Shane Richie and Lucy Benjamin.
Total payouts today amounted to £1.2 million (€1.7 million).
Gascoigne’s lawyer told the BBC that his client was “delighted and relieved” with the result.
Gascoigne had previously told the court in March that the hacking had ‘driven’ him to alcoholism and ‘ruined his life’.
“I would like to trade my mobile phone in for a coffin because these guys have ruined my life. I have no life,” he said at the time.
He had complained about 18 different articles published by the newspaper group, all of which had resulted from illegal hacking of his phone.
Gascoigne has experienced a troubled retirement from football, struggling with both alcoholism and mental illness for much of the last 20 years.
In 2010 he famously arrived at the scene of a stand-off between police and on-the-run killer Raoul Moat, seeking to offer support to the fugitive whom he considered a ‘good friend’.
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