Sheryl tears for troubled ex-husband Gazza as he battles to recover in rehab clinic

But Sheryl Gascoigne had an emotional - if upsetting reunion- with her alcoholic ex-husband Paul Gascoigne, as she rallied to offer support to the troubled ex-footballer after he was sectioned under the Mental Health Act.

A tearful Sheryl was seen struggling to compose herself as she drove away from the Priory, the rehabilitation clinic where Gazza is battling to recover from his alcohol and  mental health problems.

Sheryl spent almost five hours with Gazza yesterday, after arriving in her Range Rover just before 11am.

Tearful: Sheryl Gascoigne weeps after leaving ex-husband Paul at The Priory Clinic in Roehampton where he is battling to recover from his mental health problems

The alcoholic former footballer has been sectioned for six months after friends and family feared he would kill himself.

Now the wife Gascoigne used to beat in alcohol-fuelled rages has rushed to be by his side.

A source told The Mirror: 'The pair of them were very emotional. You might have expected Paul to be the more upset but it was Sheryl who seemed to be struggling the most.

'She was so tearful and clearly battling to keep any grip. They gave each other a really big hug and it was like she was struggling to drag herself away.

'Paul was also emotional and looked tearful but he seemed to contain things.'

Visit: Sheryl spent five hours with Gazza, They divorced with acrimony in 1998, and she received a £5million payout

Footballer Paul Gascoigne and Sheryl on their wedding day in July 1996. Their marriage lasted two years

He was taken to an unnamed hospital on Tuesday afternoon after checking himself into the Priory clinic for the third time in as many weeks.

Gascoigne's own specialists persuaded him on Tuesday that it was in his best interests to be detained in a bid to give doctors time to help him overcome his problems

It now means that he cannot voluntarily discharge himself from any treatment programme until he is given permission to do so.

That night Sheryl travelled from her home to The Priory to comfort him.

The couple married in 1996 but divorced in 1998 after she revealed he would regularly attack her.

His devastated sister, Anna Gascoigne, said yesterday: 'He's been drinking, I believe, to escape, to get away and it's been a vicious circle.

'I have feared for his life, especially I would say the last couple of weeks.

'It had literally gotten to the point where I was having to be with him constantly, to the point where I was taking him to hospital because I believed that he needed help.'

Gascoigne, 42, was first sectioned in February when police were called to the Hilton Hotel in Newcastle after he allegedly threatened staff.

He was treated at a hospital for two weeks but later discharged.

A friend of Sheryl's said she is relieved his alcohol-related mental health problems are being taken seriously.

The source said: 'Their split was acrimonious but she has a son by him and he always made it clear he thinks the world of her two kids. '

Gascoigne adopted Shery's children from a previous marriage - glamour model Bianca, 21, and Mason, 18. Together they had a son Regan, now 12.

After 28 days of treatment under the Mental Health Act Gascoigne's case will be reviewed.

But he has been warned at least three months of help are needed.

Gascoigne seen in London last month, with bottle of booze and cigarettes in the back of a cab