Paul Gascoigne has been found not guilty of sexual assault after kissing a woman on a train.

Former England footie player Gazza, 52, claimed he was comforting a woman who had been the victim of verbal abuse.

The Geordie added he kissed the woman on the lips to "boost her confidence" on the train from York to Newcastle.

Gascoigne wept in the dock as he was cleared of sexual assault.

As he left court, Gascoigne wiped his eye with a tissue and hugged his agent.

The jury at Teesside Crown Court is still considering an alternative charge of assault by beating.

The court heard the complainant was on a York to Newcastle train in August last year when Gascoigne, who was loud and swearing, drunkenly sat down next to her, tapped her on the arm, grabbed her by the cheeks and planted a sloppy kiss on her lips.

In her closing speech to the jury Michelle Heeley QC, defending, told jurors the former footballer kissed a woman who was not expecting it and did not like it, but that did not make him a sex offender.

Speaking about the alternative charge, she said: "You may think, 14 months after this incident, this is really a sexual assault, or nothing."

Referring to his illustrious international career, she said a kiss could mean many things, including a celebration "when you score one of the greatest goals England has ever seen, against Scotland in Euro '96".

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