Baseball hit by scandal

The ex-girlfriend of one of America’s richest, most high-profile baseball stars has told a grand jury that he used steroids, according to reports.

Barry Bonds’ former girlfriend Kimberly Bell, who dated the star for nine years, reportedly claimed he told her about the drug use in 2000, when his body began to undergo dramatic changes.

She said Bonds began to suffer baldness, acne and other physical changes consistent with steroid abuse, according to leaked testimony obtained by the San Francisco Chronicle.

As the scandal that has gripped the US gathers pace, it was claimed Bonds used a non-injectable steroid, which would be similar to THG, the designer steroid at the heart of the Balco scandal.

Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative (Balco) founder, Victor Conte, and two others were charged last February with distributing the steroid in a case which has rocked the reputations of scores of athletes.

The Chronicle has reported that court documents show authorities found evidence that Bonds obtained steroids and other drugs from Balco.