Pete Doherty has revealed that his heart "stopped" and he was on a life support machine after being rushed to hospital.

The musician, who has battled drug addiction, cancelled a number of Irish shows last month which he had initially claimed was due to "exhaustion".

But the Babyshambles frontman - who prefers to be known as Peter - has now admitted that he had been rushed to Swindon's Great Western Hospital after suffering "poisoning" at his Wiltshire home, and told the NME: "If I hadn't been on a life support machine I'd have been in Ireland, but my heart stopped."

Pete, who missed Babyshambles shows in Dublin, Belfast and Galway, said drugs were not involved.

The wayward performer, who was recently fitted with another implant to keep him off heroin and cocaine, said he became ill at his home in Marlborough, but remembers little.

"It was a really strange turn of events. Obviously, their (the doctors') immediate thought was that it was to do with drugs, but it wasn't - it was some kind of poisoning," Pete said.

"What happened? Well, I don't know, I don't remember. At the time I thought I was a taxi driver offering to take everyone to Elephant And Castle. I was running into the walls, making steering wheel signs with my hands. And then I just stopped. My body just stopped."

Pete said he was subsequently given the all-clear, but there are fears about his heart.

The full interview is in this week's NME which is on sale on Wednesday.