Ronnie Wood goes to rehab

Ronnie Wood, the Rolling Stone who ran off with a 20-year-old Russian cocktail waitress last week, whisking her off to his home in Ireland and fuelling the adventure with two bottles of vodka a day, has checked himself into rehab. He was apparently persuaded to leave his Co Kildare mansion, where he has built his own pub, by his son Jesse. Wood flew back to Britain by private jet on Tuesday evening, prompting speculation that he was trying to salvage his 23-year marriage to Jo Wood.

In a statement, Wood's spokesman said the rocker was being helped by those closest to him in an attempt to end his alcoholism once and for all. "Following Ronnie's continued battle with alcohol, he has entered a period of rehab. His close family and friends say he is seeking help and look forward to his recovery."

His latest fall off the wagon followed revelations that he had struck up a friendship with Ekaterina Ivanova. She told friends she had fallen in love with Wood after being persuaded to model for him. The story was given added piquancy when a painting of a nude model looking remarkably like Ivanova was sold for £8,000 within minutes of going on display at Wood's Dublin art gallery.

Yesterday, Irina’s mother said of her daughter: "The way she is described is as a Russian waitress, but what it means is she is a bitch. Jo Wood said that she is a bitch but she is only 20 – she is just a normal girl." Sources close to Wood have said he met Miss Ivanova while he was "boozed out of his mind” at a Soho bar, and claimed they were no more than "drinking buddies" who shared a mutual interest in art. Said a friend: "He's not himself. She is a drinking buddy. It's all very booze-connected."