A former friend of George Michael, Toby Bourke, has urged the singer to seek help for his cannabis habit.

Bourke claimed that he used to watch on as Micheal chain-smoked over 20 joints a day when the pair recorded together in the 90s.

He told The Daily Mirror: "I fear he's putting his life at risk. He needs to get professional help before it is too late."

Bourke said that Michael was throwing away his career on the drug, as the star would rather be stoned than work: "Drugs have turned him into a stoned waster and made him depressed. Dope is his poison. Dope destroyed his will to work."

The pair worked together on Waltz Away Dreaming in 1997, though Bourne revealed that he thought Micheal was "stoned all the time".

He commented: "It was a good experience to be a part of a big hit single. But at the same time it was heartbreaking to see someone as talented as George in such a state.

"And it's even more heartbreaking to see how much worse he has got in recent years."