Paul Gascoigne in hospital 'after being kicked down stairs of Shoreditch hotel during drunken brawl'

Football legend Paul Gascoigne was reportedly taken to hospital after being booted down a flight of stairs during an alcohol-fuelled fight at a trendy five-star hotel in east London.

The troubled 49-year-old, who has battled alcoholism for two decades, was throwing money around, "groping" women and "making racist remarks" at customers in the Ace Hotel, Shoreditch, according to a witness.

It is alleged Gascoigne – described by one person as being "so drunk he's drooling" – then slapped a guest in the face, prompting the victim's friend to kick the former England football star down the stairs.

Alvin Carpio, who was at the hotel during the incident on Tuesday evening, tweeted: "This may be 1 of the weirdest tweets I've sent: I'm in Ace Hotel trying to read but can't because Paul Gascoigne is behind me causing trouble."

He added: "It gets crazier: Gazza has just been kicked down the stairs by a guy whose friend got slapped by him. He really isn't in a good place. It's a sad state: He's been spitting, making racist remarks & groping women, all while throwing around £ notes & stating his dad has cancer."

He also wrote that the star, whose career included spells at Newcastle United, Tottenham Hotspur and Rangers, was "very drunk ... So drunk he's drooling".

The altercation saw Gascoigne taken to hospital with a head injury, the star's spokesman Terry Baker told the Daily Mirror.

Baker added: "He hasn't been arrested. He's about to be released and sent home."

A Scotland Yard spokeswoman said: "The man has been taken to an east London hospital where he remains in a stable condition. No arrests have been made and inquiries are ongoing."

In September, Gascoigne was fined £1,000 after making a racist joke about a black security guard during a live show in Wolverhampton.