Saints coach guilty of abuse

FOrMer youth coach bob Higgins was found guilty yesterday of a series of sex offences against boys at Southampton and Peterborough.

Higgins’ conviction on 45 charges of indecent assault on 23 youngsters paves the way for the long-awaited independent review into child sex abuse in football to be concluded.

clive Sheldon Qc is leading that probe into how the FA and clubs handled allegations of sexual abuse between 1970 and 2005. The review had been delayed for legal reasons concerning Higgins, 66.

bournemouth crown court heard that Higgins ‘held supreme power’ over boys’ footballing futures and that enabled his decades-long campaign of abuse. He will be sentenced at a later date.