Ex-United star jailed for theft

FORMER Manchester United midfielder Ronnie Wallwork has been jailed for 15 months for selling on parts from stolen high-performance cars.

Wallwork, who won a Premier League medal in 2001, was working out of a rented scrapyard unit in Newton Heath, Lancashire when he was arrested last November.

It emerged he had sold a Volkswagen Touran engine and parts from a BMW 318i on eBay, while he was observed driving a Mazda Furano into the scrapyard three days after it was stolen from a car dealer.

He pleaded guilty to three counts of handling stolen goods at an earlier hearing at Preston Crown Court.

Wallwork, who represented England at U20 level, joined United as a trainee in 1993, and became an Old Trafford cause celebre when he was banned for life for assaulting a referee while on loan at Royal Antwerp. The ban was later revoked.

Despite making enough appearances to win a Premier League medal in 2001, Wallwork struggled to command a first-team place under Alex Ferguson and had played for a number of clubs before moving to Sheffield Wednesday in 2008, where he made just seven appearances before being released.