Eric Clapton admits shoplifting past

The legendary British guitarist admits he spent much of his youth stealing from shops and wildly "demolishing" train carriages.

He recalls: "My friends and I would go shoplifting in Cobham or Woking. We'd get on a train from Guildford, choose an empty compartment and demolish it.

"We would smash mirrors, tear down the maps, cut the luggage nets with our penknives, slash the upholstery to ribbons, then get up hooting with laughter."

The 62-year-old musician reveals his former wild streak in his new book, 'Clapton: The Autobiography'.

In the tell-all tome, Clapton also chronicles his struggles with heroin and alcohol addiction and admits he stole model Pattie Boyd away from her then husband George Harrison in the 70s because he was jealous of the late Beatles legend.

Clapton writes: "I coveted Pattie because she belonged to a powerful man who seemed to have everything I wanted - amazing cars, an incredible career and a beautiful wife."

Clapton finally married Boyd in 1979, two years after her divorce from Harrison. Their marriage ended in 1988.document.write(unescape("