Sam Allardyce, who was expected to be named England football manager this week, was defrauded of thousands of pounds by an alleged conman.

Stephen Ackerman, 48, of Loughton, Essex, denies multiple charges of fraud, with accusations that he scammed the then-West Ham manager and multiple West Ham players out of more than £50,000 in total.

Under the alias of Mark Kingston, Mr Ackerman allegedly went to West Ham's training ground in December 2014 and offered luxury Christmas hampers including Belgian chocolates and discounted champagne to the club's staff.

He is accused of taking payment but not supplying the hampers, and using credit cards details for further frauds.

Giving evidence at Snaresbrook Crown Court this week, Mr Allardyce described the man he encountered as "extremely smart, very well spoken" as well as "a good salesman".