Rough sleeping Kenny Sansom given help by Professional Footballers’ Association

Kenny Sansom, former Crystal Palace and Arsenal footballer, pictured near his home in Bromley, Kent, for a MAIL ON SUNDAY Sport interview in which he discussed his autobiography, 'To Cap It All... My Story'

Mail on Sunday

Lindsay Watling2 August 2013

Former England star Kenny Sansom is being helped by the Professional Footballers’ Association after it was revealed he was sleeping on a park bench.

The World Cup defender was the most capped English full back until his record was overtaken by Ashley Cole in 2011, but he blew everything on alcohol and gambling and had been reduced to homelessness after losing contact with his family.

After desperate appeals by his sister Mary prompted several sightings, the ex-Arsenal player was found in a pub in Bromley.

The PFA, which has already spent thousands of pounds trying to help him, is now paying for his accommodation.

Speaking on behalf of the family at her home in Waterloo, Mary, 61, who once rang her brother’s mobile and was answered by a man who had found it in a graveyard, said: “I hope he comes to his senses, but the main thing is he’s ok.”

Sansom won 86 caps for his country between 1979 and 1988.