Boy George has cost himself £36,000 by signing an 'autograph' for a 'fan' during a DJ appearance last weekend.

The ex-Culture Club singer thought he was giving a fan a memento after being approached as he span discs at Manchester's Essential club last Saturday, when he was infact being served with a statutory declaration by a solicitor disguised as a clubber.

A spokesperson for Levy's solicitors says, "He was gobsmacked. As soon as we said, 'You have been served with a statutory declaration, he went, 'Oh!' He could not understand it. He was gobsmacked.

"We have all got a job to do, one way or another, and this was the best way to do it. We had to get him at his weak moment."

The now "served" declaration means George must pay up £36,000 or be declared bankrupt, after he cancelled an appearance in America at short notice.

George - real name George O'Dowd - had been ordered to pay the sum in cash to Cheshire promoter Kasia Saleh, after she claimed the star's cancellation had caused the failure of her Club GAY USA event.

The writ isn't Geroge's only legal trouble at the moment, he was also charged with false imprisonment on Monday.