Ricky Hatton’s cocaine shame ,World champion boxer caught on camera snorting line after line of illegal drug

A friend who witnessed the former world champ take SEVEN lines of coke in a Manchester hotel said: "If he carries on he'll kill himself. I'm really, really worried for him."

These are the pictures that will rock the world of boxing - bloated former world champion Hatton snorting line after line of cocaine.

First the sporting legend casually takes out a wrap of the drug he has hidden in his SHOE.

Then he pours the white powder on to a table top before cutting it into three massive lines with a credit card. Finally he expertly hoovers them up his nose through a rolled up £20 note.

The shameful images of 31-year-old national hero Ricky, nicknamed The Hitman for his ring victories, were captured at a Manchester hotel two weeks ago.

And this was one bout in which the two-times world welterweight supremo got really hammered - knocked out by a marathon 10-hour bender including SEVEN lines of coke in THREE separate drug sessions, 11 pints of Guinness, four vodkas, two glasses of wine and several Sambucas.

His fall from grace - just months after hanging up his gloves - will stun millions of fans around the world, the many charities who rely on him, his loyal fiancée Jennifer Dooley and his nine-year-old son.

Our sensational revelations follow concerns voiced to the News of the World by well-placed sources that Ricky - who earned an estimated £50 million and a coveted MBE during his glittering career - has been acting erratically in recent months.

One told us: "Hatton has been partying hard and is an accident waiting to happen. For a professional sportsman it's totally unbelievable what he's doing to his body. He needs help and quickly."

Today Ricky faces his biggest fight yet - to get his life back on track.

Fellow fighter Emma Bowe is the close pal who witnessed Hatton devouring cocaine in her hotel bathroom and bedroom. And last night she told us: "I'm only talking about this because Ricky is a danger to himself. If he carries on like this he'll kill himself.

"I'm really, really worried for him, especially if he tries to make a comeback in the ring as he's hinted - he could have a heart attack."

Emma, 29 - the current Irish national senior women's boxing champ - told us how she flew from Dublin into Manchester to attend a cage fighting event with Hatton.

But the ring star's drink and drug binge was already underway by 5.20pm when he turned up at Emma's hotel, just a 10-minute cab ride from the home he shares with Jennifer.

Wearing a black Ben Sherman shirt and casual trousers, he made his way to his pal's room. She said: "The event at Altrincham Leisure Centre began at 7pm but Ricky had said he wanted to meet me at five. When he arrived in my room he told me he'd had two pints of Guinness in his local. As I was ready we went downstairs for drinks in the bar.

"There was a wedding function taking place and everyone descended on Ricky, plaguing him for photographs and autographs. After another two pints of Guinness we left for the fight and we got the same reception there.

"Security men ushered us to a ringside seat and the event was being televised by Sky. But Ricky seemed agitated and kept saying, 'Stay with me! Don't leave my side!'

Ricky Hatton snorts the drug through a rolled-up banknote

"I noticed he kept disappearing to the toilets - at least four times in two hours - and I now suspect he was taking coke because when he came back he was very alert and perky."

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