Former Newcastle youth coach George Ormond has been sentenced to 20 years in jail for sexual abuse offences across a span of 25 years.

Ormond coached football at grassroots level in the 1970s and 80s before taking up a role in Newcastle's academy in the 1990s.

BBC News reports how Newcastle Crown Court heard that between 1973 and 1998, Ormond used his "position of power" to sexually abuse 18 boys and young men.

He was found guilty of 35 counts of indecent assault and one count of indecency. He was cleared of two further charges at the end of the six week trial.

The jury heard that Ormond "manipulated his position" by blackmailing young players with the promise of a "glittering future", which he promised to ruin if they stood up to him or resisted his advances.

Judge Edward Bindloss said: "Over a 25-year period, George Ormond was a man wholly preoccupied with sex who used his position as a respected football coach to target boys and young men in his care."

This is the second time Ormond has been given jail time for sex offences, after he was sentenced to six years behind bars in 2002 for seven counts of abuse against boys under 16 years old.