West Ham players ‘ripped off’

A man allegedly lured West Ham players and staff into buying luxury hampers for Christmas which were never delivered, before using their bank card details to spend thousands, a court heard.

Former manager Sam Allardyce was among 13 people, including England striker Andy Carroll, who allegedly paid out a total of £7,310 to Stephen Ackerman in December 2014 .

Mr Ackerman, of Loughton, Essex, pleaded not guilty in March and yesterday denied six further counts of fraud amounting to about £54,730 at Snaresbrook Crown Court, east London.