Author Irvine Welsh said it was “horrible” re-reading Trainspotting to make sure its new sequel was accurate – and admitted fans will still catch him out.

Welsh, 66, found fame in 1993 thanks to his novel about a group of heroin addicts in 1980s Edinburgh, later adapted into the cult film starring Ewan McGregor and Robert Carlyle.

The new sequel, Men in Love, carries on exactly where Trainspotting ended and features the same cast of main characters, but was written over 30 years apart.

Welsh, who says he forgets his books as soon as he completes them, said that reading previous work was “the worst thing you can possibly do”.

He told an audience at the Edinburgh International Book Festival it was necessary to keep the story “consistent”, but admitted it was impossible to get everything

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