Man jailed over player blackmail

A 30-year-old man who tried to blackmail a Premier League footballer, has been jailed for a year by a judge at Manchester Crown Court.

Paul Smith, from Heaton Norris in Stockport, was accused of using menaces against the player in January, in an attempt to obtain £20,000 from him.

He had pleaded guilty to blackmail at a previous hearing.

The court heard the player was asked to pay money for the retrieval of an MP3 player found in a clothing store.