Paul Gascoigne makes appeal to crooks who stole dad's things

Paul Gascoigne took to ITV on Monday morning to try and reach out to the thieves who recently broke into his home. His message – ‘can I have my stuff back, please?’.

The reason for his appeal was clear as he tried to hold back the tears on ITV’s Good Morning Britain. The burglars had taken a number of items that had belonged to the legendary footballer’s deceased father.

“I was really close to my dad,” he explained to Susannah Reid and Piers Morgan, struggling not to cry.

“When he passed away, there was certain stuff I kept.” These included his first championship medal, which he had given to his father and a cigar cutter, which had been a present.

“I would really appreciate it if they [the burglars] did hand them back, just the sentimental things, it’s hard you know.” He even had a simple way of returning them without there being any recriminations.

“Whoever has got them to leave them [the stolen items] outside on the doorstep.”

Read more: Paul Gascoigne blames Piers Morgan after thieves burgle £140k worth of jewellery

Morgan revealed on air that he actually felt somewhat responsible for the events, as a story in the weekend papers suggested that he might have made the burglars aware Gascoigne wasn’t at home. The interviewer had posted a picture of Paul at a recording of Life Stories, where he was supporting his friend Vinnie Jones.

But all seemed to be forgiven during the interview, with Gazza joking that he would settle for a T-Bone steak in recompense. It turned out that the burglars had even taken some fillet steaks out of the footballer’s freezer during the heist.

Morgan, moved by Gazza’s appeal, shared the story on Twitter urging his followers to contact Dorset Police if they have any tips.

“I don’t mind the [loss of the] other stuff but the sentimental stuff meant a hell of a lot to me,” he said. “Now that I’m talking about it, it’s really hit me. Stupid things that don’t mean a lot to them [the burglars] but mean a hell of a lot to me.”

Read more: Paul Gascoigne says there's a Gazza biopic in the works

This won’t be the last time we’ll see Gascoigne on telly this year. There’s a documentary due this autumn about his role in the Italia 90 and Euro 96 tournaments. Plus, the footballer has also revealed that a biopic of his life is in the works.