Culture Club frontman Boy George was terrified of his mother’s reaction to his arrest for cocaine possession in the U.S. - more than the prospect of going to jail.

The singer - real name George Alan O’Dowd - was sentenced to five days community service in 2005 after he was caught with drugs in his New York apartment.

O’Dowd was reported to have called police to his home to report a suspected burglary but when officers arrived they found a stash of cocaine under the star’s bed.

And the 46-year-old admits at the time of the arrest it wasn’t the threat of a prison sentence which worried him most.

He says, "When that story came out I wanted to hide under a rock. I was mortified. I was so disappointed in myself. "But my first thought was, ‘My poor mother! She’s going to go crazy’. As it happens she was great about it."

The gay star is due to stand trial in Britain later this year (08) on charges of falsely imprisoning a male escort after an incident at his London home in April last year (07).