By Chris Story

Last updated 12:47, Thursday, 08 May 2008

CULT Carlisle United hero Warren Aspinall today reveals how a crippling £1m gambling habit drove him to the brink of suicide.

Warren Aspinall (front) and Lee Peacock celebrate winning the LDV Northern Final at Stockport

The former Blues midfielder – a star of the 1997 Auto Windscreens Shield-winning squad – was moments away from being hit by a train as the strain of his addiction and heavy drinking plunged him to an ultimate low.

But the thought of his family made him step clear of the tracks as the train sounded its horn.

That moment proved a turning point. He went into rehab in January, came out in February and has not gambled or drank since.

Aspinall, 40, has spoken of the financial and emotional cost of his gambling to highlight the dangers and stop other footballers suffering the torment he has endured throughout his adult life.

He said: “It all came to a head between Christmas and New Year. I had finished football, had got a job working hard in a real man’s world, working my socks off to make a good living.

“I got paid on the Friday and went into the bookies on the afternoon. After three trips to the speed bank I had done all my wages in one day. £1,700. That is a lot of money – not to these football players now, but to the general public.

“I thought ‘what have I done?’. I had £20 in my pocket. I went for a few beers.”

But as he drank he hit another low. “I was so depressed, I went and sat on a train line,” Aspinall revealed. “It was about 11.30/12 o’clock at night. I’d had quite a few to drink, I had no money – nothing. I thought ‘just end it’.

“When I was sat on that train line I was doing it. I sat with my back to the train. I was just waiting for the train to hit me.

“The train driver gave a hoot. I thought ‘what am I doing?’. I just got out of the way as it whizzed past me. I thought ‘Warren, what have you just done? You have two lovely kids, a fiancee who loves you, three step-children who love me and a mum and dad at home – a family. What are you doing?’. Thank heavens he hooted. I would be in a wooden box now.

“I went back and told Karen [his fiancee]. She said ‘you need help’.”

Aspinall will reveal his battle with gambling and alcohol as part of a powerful radio interview to be broadcast on BBC Radio 5 Live tonight.

He told the station: “I have looked back over my career and must have done nearly £1m in gambling. When I think about it, it makes me as sick as a pig, but that is the past.”

From the low of considering suicide, Aspinall, who now lives near Southampton and works at a supermarket distribution centre, sought help.

He contacted football players’ union the PFA the following day and they put him in-touch with Sporting Chance, the clinic established by former Arsenal and England star Tony Adams.

They registered Aspinall, affectionately known by Carlisle fans as Sumo, for a 26-day course of treatment that he believes saved his life.

Although he went in for treatment for gambling, he also sought help for his drinking problems.

Aspinall, whose gambling began with ‘10p yankees’ on horses as a young player at Wigan, admits his addiction turned him into a “lying, horrible man” and has apologised for the upset he caused family and friends as part of his recovery.

He believes gambling can kill and suspects so many footballers become addicted when they try to alleviate boredom following training. He has called on the game’s authorities and the Government to do more to help all addicts.

Reflecting on the financial toll, he told the BBC: “I had two record signings, was the highest paid player at most of the clubs I have been at and have nothing to show for it. I have no house, no savings – nothing.”

Although Aspinall’s time at Brunton Park during the mid-1990s coincided with the turbulent Michael Knighton era, he regards his spell in Carlisle as a highlight of a career that also took in Everton, Aston Villa and Portsmouth.

The success he tasted in Cumbria included winning two championship medals and two Wembley finals and his outgoing character made him a favourite among the Blue Army’s ranks.

Aspinall’s playing career ended following an injury while with Brighton in 2000.

Since retiring from playing, he has been involved with scouting, currently with Premier League side Portsmouth.

Aspinall is not the first former Carlisle player to have revealed his demons with gambling.Club saviour Jimmy Glass, whose last-gasp goal in May 1999 kept the Blues in the Football League, has already revealed how his addiction took over his life and left him with debts of more than £100,000.

• To hear Aspinall’s full interview, tune into BBC Radio 5 Live from 7pm