Andy Woodward’s ‘shocking’ wait to speak to police sexual abuse team

Waiting game: Andy Woodward says he has been left ‘hurt’ by the delay in providing a police statement
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Standard Sport22 December 2016

Andy Woodward has revealed he is still waiting to give police information about the alleged sexual abuse he suffered as a junior player.

The 43-year-old rocked football last month when he went public with claims about how he was sexually abused while at Crewe in the Eighties.

Operation Hydrant — the UK-wide police investigation into non-recent child sexual abuse — revealed yesterday that 148 clubs are now involved, with 155 potential suspects and 429 victims, aged between four and 20.

But Woodward took to social media last night to reveal his disappointment at a lack of action by police in his case — a delay he described as “shocking”.

“I’ve now been waiting five weeks to provide my statement with the police for further abuse on me. I’ve not mentioned it before now but it hurts,” Woodward wrote on Twitter.

“I’ve kept quiet about it but now people should know I suffered more than one abuser.

“I need to let go of that pain yet still waiting.”

In a statement, Chief Constable Simon Bailey, the National Police Chiefs’ Council lead on child abuse, said allegations received by police across the country “were being swiftly acted upon” but acknowledged that a “higher than usual” volume of calls was causing delays.

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