Former footballer Paul Gascoigne has been cleared of sexual assault.

The ex-Rangers player was on trial at Teesside Crown Court after he kissed a woman on a train.

The 52-year-old denied sexually assaulting the woman, with the alleged incident taking place on a York to Newcastle train in August 2018.

When Judge Peter Armstrong summed up the case on Wednesday, he told jurors that “assault by beating” is committed if the defendant “intentionally applies unlawful force to another who does not consent to it”.

The jury later cleared him of assault by beating.

After Gascoigne was cleared, Judge Peter Armstrong said: “You are now discharged and free to go.”

He can apply to have his defence costs paid, the judge said.