London Premier League clubs caught up in historical sex abuse allegations

All five London Premier League clubs have been caught up in historical child sex abuse allegations, say police.

The Met Police say they have received 255 separate allegations of sexual abuse against individuals at 77 named clubs or teams.

A Met Police statement read: "On December 8, 2016, the Metropolitan Police Service confirmed it had launched an investigation into allegations of non-recent sexual abuse at football clubs in London.

"As of Monday, January 30, the investigative team, with officers from the Sexual Offences, Exploitation and Child Abuse Command, have received 255 separate allegations.

"The allegations are connected with individuals at 77 named clubs or teams.

"The breakdown for those clubs is: Five in the Premier League; Three against Championship clubs; Three against clubs in Leagues One and Two; and there have also been 66 other named clubs which would include non-league or non-professional or amateur teams."

Detective Chief Superintendent Ivan Balhatchet of the Sexual Offences, Exploitation and Child Abuse Command said: "The Met take all allegations seriously, and specialist officers will work through the information passed to them.

"Anyone who has been the victim of sexual assault should contact their local force, or call the NSPCC help line on 0800 023 2642."

West Ham, Crystal Palace and Tottenham have subsequently confirmed they have not been contacted by Metropolitan Police regarding the allegations.

"We have had no contact from the Metropolitan Police so we have no idea whether these allegations relate to Crystal Palace FC," read a statement from the club.

"Clearly, should we be contacted we will cooperate fully with any enquiry and give every possible assistance to the Police in their investigations."

A West Ham spokesman also issued a response later on Monday night.

"West Ham United has not had any contact from the Metropolitan Police Service to date, so is not aware if the allegations relate to the club," it read.

"If approached, we will of course co-operate fully with this wide-ranging investigation.

"West Ham United follow the principles of the NSPCC Child Protection in Sport Unit's national safeguarding standards and would encourage anyone aware of historic abuse to report it to the police or the Football Association's NSPCC helpline immediately."

Earlier in January, the National Police Chiefs' Council (NPCC), which is co-ordinating the nationwide police investigation Operation Hydrant, said more than 500 complainants and 184 potential suspects had been identified by police investigating football's child sex abuse scandal.

The inquiry involves up to 248 football clubs, spanning all tiers of the game from the Premier League down to amateur level.

Latest figures show the total number of potential victims standing at 526, with 97 per cent identified as male. Their ages span from 20 to four.