Wallwork remember him?

A former Manchester United footballer who descended from a Premier League career to breaking up stolen car parts in a rented scrapyard unit in just two years is due to be sentenced.

Police stumbled upon the operation of Ronnie Wallwork, 34, while investigating a string of unconnected armed robberies across Lancashire, one of which led to the shooting of a security guard.

The main targets of the North West Regional Crime Squad were career criminals Craig Bulger and Mark Cain - who shot the guard several times at a Tesco branch in Preston. Bulger, 51, was tracked to a scrapyard in Manchester where Wallwork came to the attention of the authorities in 2010 as the site became the focus of heavy surveillance.

Wallwork, from Failsworth, pleaded guilty to three counts of receiving stolen goods at an earlier hearing and will be sentenced at Preston Crown Court.

His best friend, Siobhan Johnstone, 34, of Newton Heath, was cleared last month of handling the same stolen goods. She had sold a Volkswagen Touran engine and car parts from a BMW 318i on eBay on behalf of Wallwork who kept her in the dark about where they had come from. A Mazda Furano was also parked on her driveway at the ex-footballer's request.

The VW Touran had been stolen from an address in Worsley, the BMW worth £15,000 was taken from Wigan and the Mazda worth £16,000 was stolen from outside Nidd Vale garage in Harrogate, North Yorkshire. The red Mazda found its way the following day to 10 Arches scrapyard in Manchester where Wallwork was based, Johnstone's trial jury heard.

In June, Preston Crown Court heard Cain, 48, of Ashfield Rise, Catterall, held a gun to the security guard's head at the branch of Tesco in Fulwood in March 2010. He then shot at the guard several times, seriously injuring him. The guard spent six months in hospital receiving treatment for his injuries.

Cain and Bulger, of Scotland Hall Road, Newton Heath, were both given indeterminate sentences with minimum terms of more than seven years after admitting armed robbery and possessing firearms.

Wallwork, who represented England at Under-20 level, joined United as a trainee in 1993 but struggled to command a first team place and was loaned to a number of clubs before he joined West Bromwich Albion in 2002.

Loan periods at Bradford City, Barnsley and Huddersfield Town followed before he moved to Sheffield Wednesday in 2008 where he made just seven appearances.

Also remember Ian Wright did some time.

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Tony Adams and Paul Merson spring to mind. RVP had some kind of high profile criminal activity levelled at him as well.

what has Morrison got himself into?

comment by BahamasSpurs (U1033)
posted 43 seconds ago

what has Morrison got himself into?

................

Nothing new.

BahamasSpurs

He was caught up in a Gang, he has been caught up in a few fights and he broke some womens phone and may or may not of hit her if memory serves correctly.

He needs to stamp that side out and get on with his football as many have stated on here before.

I see JR. Decent player with some good touches against Palace the other night

Vidicschin

I think RVP was found innocent of the whole "Rape" story much like the Ribery and the whole Leicester team cases.

Tony Adams and Paul Merson as well as many others, should be examples of what not to do but when the youngsters have soo much money and too big of an ego, they won't listen.

I wonder how much Ronnie frittered away, certainly didn't invest it wisely enough. Why can't they do an Owen and buy a racehorse?

"Cain and Bulger, of Scotland Hall Road, Newton Heath, were both given indeterminate sentences with minimum terms of more than seven years after admitting armed robbery and possessing firearms".

Only a minimum of 7 years? They shot a guard several times, leaving the poor man in hospital for 6 months. What, no charge of attemted murder go with the arm robbery and possesion of firearms charges?

RH

The UK really is a joke when it comes to Law and Order at the moment.

These guys would be doing life in the US for that.

7 Years of which they would probably only serve 3 and a half with good behaviour and get another year knocked off if they promise not to do it again.

I bet you would get more for tax evasion or something that directly affects MPs jobs.