Sam Allardyce defrauded out of £13,000 by 'smart salesman', court told

Sunderland manager Sam Allardyce was defrauded out of tens of thousands of pounds by a man he described as a "smart, excellent salesman", a court was told on Tuesday.

Stephen Ackerman, 48, is accused of defrauding Allardyce and 12 other players and staff of West Ham United in December 2014.

Ackerman, of Loughton, Essex, denies 18 charges of fraud in relation to the sales of hampers of wine and champagne, which were never delivered.

The proceeds amount to a total of around £61,560 and Allardyce, who is in contention to be appointed the next England manager, is said to have lost £13, 270.

Appearing in Snaresbrook Crown Court in east London via video-link, Allardyce said: "I went and chatted away with Stephen and we talked about champagne and wine, which he said he could get.

"I said he could then deal with Anita, my PA, for the payment of those goods. Then I went off training with the lads."

Allardyce met the man on December 12 and said he was within "touching distance". The 61-year-old told the court: "He was extremely smart, very well spoken and he set his stall up exceptionally well.

"There was a very good array of good quality products for sale. A good salesman; excellent in terms of how he would sell his goods and how good the value was, and obviously they would get delivered to you at a later date."

The court was told that Allardyce purchased six bottles of Laurent Perrier rose champagne and six bottles of Sancerre wine, totalling £270, but then he became aware of unauthorised, fraudulent activity totalling £13,000 over the next few days.

The trial continues.