A FORMER Newcastle United striker has become the latest footballer to tell police he was sexually abused in the sport.

David Eatock, now 40, has said that after he joined Newcastle at 18, George Ormond, a former club youth coach, indecently assaulted him and performed a sex act in front of him in two separate incidents.

Ormond was jailed for six years in 2002 for carrying out numerous assaults spanning 24 years.

Referrals from calls to a dedicated football abuse hotline have more than tripled the amount made in the first three days of the Jimmy Savile scandal, the NSPCC has said.

More than 860 calls had been made to the helpline in its first week after it was launched on November 23 to support the victims of child sex abuse within football.

Its chief executive, Peter Wanless, said there had been a "staggering surge" in the amount of people getting in touch.

He said: "The number of high-profile footballers bravely speaking out about their ordeal has rightly caught the attention of the entire country.

"We have had a staggering surge in calls to our football hotline, which reveals the worrying extent of abuse that had been going on within the sport."

The helpline was set up with the support and funding of the Football Association after former player Andy Woodward said he had been abused as a young player.

Within two hours of the opening of the helpline, the charity said it had been contacted 50 times by members of the public. Within the first three days, it had made 60 referrals to the police or children's services.

The charity made 17 such referrals In the same time frame following the opening of its Savile helpline in 2012.

Mr Wanless said anyone who wishes to contact the helpline "can do so in confidence, with the knowledge they will be listened to and supported".

"In future, footballers - both young players and former athletes - must have the confidence to open up about sexual abuse and feel able to come forward," he said.

Jon Brown, the NSPCC's lead on tackling sexual abuse, said some of the calls related to current alleged abuse as well as historical cases.

He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "We're not able to give detail with the calls that are coming through to the helpline but suffice to say it's a lot of calls, obviously.

"They will be referring to both historic and non-recent abuse and also current concerns as well."

Pressed on the issue, he added: "It would be naive to assume that all of the concerns that are being disclosed, being talked about, are in the past."

ends Page 3: 09:50 Derbyshire police confirmed they are investigating allegations against a 62-year-old man over historical child sex abuse.

A spokeswoman said: "All allegations will be taken seriously and a thorough investigation will be launched no matter how long ago the abuse may have taken place.

"We urge anyone who may have information regarding child sexual abuse to come forward."

  • The NSPCC's football abuse helpline can be called 24 hours a day on 0800 023 2642.