Best gets a blasting

AS George Best languished alone and miserable on his holiday island yesterday, his mother-in-law made it clear he can expect a tough reception when he gets home.

Cheryl Pursey said her daughter Alex was feeling 'hurt, betrayed and angry' after learning how Best tried to strike up a relationship with a crop-headed blonde in his local pub.

'She is very, very upset,' added Mrs Pursey, who was visiting the Bests' £750,000 cottage in Upper Gatton, Surrey. 'She doesn't know what the future holds.'

Alex, 31, ordered the soccer legend out of their hotel room in Malta at the weekend when news emerged of his encounters with 25-yearold Paula Shapland, who
said he had told her he was getting divorced. Best booked into another room at the Holiday Inn in Sliema, but Alex flew back to Gatwick saying their marriage was over.

She immediately left again for the Costa del Sol, where she was sunbathing with three girlfriends yesterday minus wedding ring.

Back in Malta, to the surprise of no one, 57-year-old Best was hitting the bottle.

In the early hours of yesterday he was wandering drunkenly around the Holiday Inn trying in vain to find his room.

He eventually returned to the bar, where he joked with staff before retiring to a corner with a spirit and mixer. Obviously the stomach implants designed to make him reject alcohol are still not working.

A hungover Best spent yesterday either on his balcony or sitting by the pool, delving occasionally into a paper pharmacy bag.

He also bought newspapers-from a shop near the £200-a-night hotel.

It was the first time he could read about his recent misdeeds because the British papers arrive a day late in Malta.

Best's current troubles all centre around the Chequers, a pub in Walton on the Hill, a few miles from his home.

It was there that he started drinking again less than a year after the liver transplant which saved his life after several decades of alcohol abuse.

Alex was said to be ' devastated' about the drinking spree and temporarily moved out but soon forgave him.

On July 27, he insisted: 'The only thing that would destroy our marriage is if either of us cheated,' adding: 'The truth is that I'm just not interested in anyone else but Alex.'

But according to Miss Shapland, by this time he had already made advances to her, promising he was leaving Alex.