Abz Love quit drugs and alcohol after being visited by the devil

The 38-year-old singer - who has now been sober for five years - explained: "I met the devil, which is pretty far out.

"The funny thing is, it looked like me. I don't know what it was, I was so far off. And I remember my heart palpitations felt like they were punching through my chest into the mattress.

"It happened two times and I heard a voice say, 'One more time, you've got one more time and we're going to take you.'"

Abz admitted on ITV's 'Loose Women' that the surreal incident convinced him to quit abusing drugs and alcohol.

Asked by host Andrea McLean whether the devil was a vision or his subconscious talking to him, Abz replied: "It was so warped, it's such a warped place. And this is a thing that I want to get across to people at home - you can get out of this."

Abz joined the British boyband when he was just 16, but his life spiralled out of control after they split in 2001.

And the singer admitted he reached rock bottom when he found himself contemplating suicide, having lost all of his career earnings.

He shared: "My worst point was when I was in this penthouse and I had no money at all - I was literally just bankrupt and they were going to take my house.

"I had no furniture, no cutlery, nothing and I'd be at the corner of my penthouse just looking down at the Thames, just thinking about jumping because ... what is the point?"