A school basketball coach has been jailed for 30 months after sexually abusing a 14-year-old girl.

Sean Andre Alleyne, a former England U18 coach and pundit for channel Five, encouraged the girl to show him her private parts and performed sex acts on her.

The 41-year-old, who was working at Archbishop Lanfranc School at the time, had previously admitted inciting a child to engage in sexual activity and three counts of sexual activity with a child.

He pleaded not guilty to a further count of sexual activity with a child, which will remain on file.

Judge Stephen Waller banned Alleyne from working in any job which would give him unsupervised access to girls under the age of 15 during sentencing at Croydon Crown Court.

He said: “These are serious offences of their type.

“I have no doubt that the court case will have a life-long effect on her.”

Shekinah Anson, prosecuting, told the court the girl was “no longer the bright and articulate young lady she once was” following the abuse.

Alleyne was arrested on October 2 last year after officers discovered lurid emails he sent the girl on a computer seized from his home in Cecil Road, Croydon.

He admitted the messages were inappropriate “in hindsight” when he read from a prepared statement under police interview, and was released on bail under the condition he did not contact the girl.

But the 6ft former basketball star, who coached top teams including Kingston, the London Towers and the Manchester Giants during an illustrious career, was rearrested after further email contact between the two.

Ryan Thompson, defending, said Alleyne could not explain why he had entered into a relationship with the girl, but insisted his client had not groomed her.

Judge Waller sentenced Alleyne to 30 months imprisonment for each count, to be served concurrently, less the 119 days he had already spent in custody while on remand.

The judge said: "It’s long been the view of the courts in cases of this type that the courts must focus on the protection of the children and young people and that can only be done by passing sentences which are sufficient to deter men from acting in this sort of fashion.”