Former Man United player jailed for selling stolen parts

Police stumbled upon the illegal vehicle-breaking operation of Ronnie Wallwork, 34, while investigating a string of unconnected armed robberies in Lancashire.

Wallwork, of Failsworth, Manchester, who also played for four Yorkshire clubs, was working out of a rented scrapyard unit when he was arrested last November.

Preston Crown Court was told he had sold a Volkswagen Touran engine and parts from a BMW 318i on eBay, while he was seen driving a £16,000 Mazda Furano into the scrapyard three days after it was stolen from the Nidd Vale garage in Harrogate.

He pleaded guilty to three counts of handling stolen goods at an earlier hearing and was yesterday sentenced to 15 months to run concurrently.

Judge Simon Newell said: “These were high-value items that were stolen. It seems to me they were taken in a professional and sophisticated way. It also seems clear to me that they were taken to go into the black market either to be sold on or broken down and sold on. You provided the facility for that to happen.”

Wallwork joined United as a trainee in 1993 but struggled to command a first team place. He had loan spells at Bradford City, Barnsley and Huddersfield Town before moving to Sheffield Wednesday in 2008 where he made just seven appearances.

Rachel Woods, defending, said there was no evidence he was linked to the thefts of the vehicles.

She said: “He clearly succumbed to temptation in a stage of his life when his finances had taken a dramatic turn for the worse.”

His career had been “tragically cut short” when he was the victim of a bar stabbing four years ago.

He had lost a lot of money in two failed businesses before he set up the initially legitimate concern from the scrapyard.

Since admitting his crimes he had taken advantage of services offered to him by the Professional Footballers’ Association.