A goalkeeper has been sentenced to 20 months in jail for attempting to blackmail a Premier League footballer over a video that showed him having sex.

Ashley Timms, 22, a former Manchester City trainee, demanded £15,000 from the footballer, who cannot be named for legal reasons.

The video clip showed a woman and the footballer engaged in sex at his home and Timms threatened to publish the images unless he was paid.

The court was told that Timms had sent the victim, referred to only as Witness A, a series of threatening text messages

He pleaded guilty last month at Manchester Crown Court after admitting making a series of unwarranted demands with menace.

The goalkeeper played for a succession of clubs, including Shewsbury Town and Accrington Stanley, after leaving Manchester City. He joined Cambridge City on non-contract terms in January but has since left.

Times Recommends

• One case exposes grim reality for thousands
• A glass case: Prince who yearns for action
• Elizabeth Gaskell: I won’t see out the year