‘I drove a London bus down the road singing, ‘We’re all going on a summer holiday.’ My dad rang and said, “You stupid bastard, you’re never going to learn, are you?”’ Paul Gascoigne on the prank that got him in trouble with his dad

Paul Gascoigne.

During his playing days, Paul Gascoigne and authority tended to mix about as well as oil and water.

The former England genius’s managers, club officials and even family members would often try and rein in the midfielder, but Gazza was never one for rules.

But even by his standards, one prank that the ex-Newcastle and Spurs man pulled during his time at Middlesbrough proved to be costly - and upset plenty of people who were looking out for him.

Gazza recalls his Boro bus prank

Gazza enjoyed a bus ride (Image credit: Getty Images)

Gazza’s love for mischief and mayhem was legendary, with his Boro bus stunt a perfect example.

“At Middlesbrough, I drove the team bus out of the garage, but that lasted about 100 yards,” he recalls to FourFourTwo.

Gazza won 57 England caps (Image credit: Getty Images)

“Bryan Robson was like, ‘Gazza, where’s the bus?’ I said. ‘It’s in the f**king trees, gaffer, it’s f**ked.’ He said, ‘Gazza, that’s a £400,000 bus…’”

Gazza’s former England team-mate should have known that he had form in this matter.

“I ended up driving a London bus once, too,” Gazza continues. “I drove it down the road, singing, ‘We’re all going on a summer holiday.’

“I’d told my dad I’d go to London and behave myself – I got to my hotel room and thought, ‘Thank God my dad didn’t see that.’

“But then I turned Sky News on and they said, ‘Apparently, 20 minutes ago, Paul Gascoigne was seen…’

Bryan Robson was Gazza's manager at the time (Image credit: Alamy)

“That was it, my phone went and it was my dad going, ‘F**king hell, you stupid bastard, you’re never going to learn, are you?’

“I said, ‘No, I don’t think so!’”

Paul Gascoigne: Eight (published by Reach Sport) is on sale now in print, ebook and audiobook