£1,500 gas arrears of Arsenal star

Arsenal footballer Edu had the perfect reason why British Gas should not cut off the supply to his £1 million penthouse - he earns a lot of money.

When faced with an engineer, bailiff and locksmith at his Enfield home after he was told there were unpaid bills, the Brazilian midfielder, 24, wanted to show he could more than afford the payments and went off to get a copy of his Highbury contract, which confirmed he earns £600,000 a year.

He then gave officials, who had a magistrate's order allowing them to cut the supply, a cheque for £1,500 to pay the outstanding bill. The misunderstanding is thought to have arisen after Edu, whose full name is Eduardo Cesar Daud Gaspar, mistakenly failed to pay some bills and because of his limited English did not act on warning letters. There were also unpaid bills left by the previous tenant, Edu's former team-mate Nelson Vivas.

A British Gas source said: "Edu had no idea he had run up the debt. Some of the arrears had been from when Vivas had lived there and Edu was asked when he had moved in. He showed the date on his contract and then pointed out his salary."