WATCH: Police raid Bucks home of paedophile coach at centre of football abuse scandal

Police officers have removed items and a dog from the Buckinghamshire home of a convicted paedophile who has been exposed as a child abuser by football stars.
Police at the home of Barry Bennell in Milton Keynes. Photo: SWNSPolice at the home of Barry Bennell in Milton Keynes. Photo: SWNS
Police at the home of Barry Bennell in Milton Keynes. Photo: SWNS

Barry Bennell, 62, is now at the centre of a football abuse scandal as the former Crewe Alexandria coach has been named by a number of footballers as the man who assaulted them.

Andy Woodward the first former player to speak out about the abuse.

It has emerged that Thames Valley police turned up at his address in nearby Milton Keynes, Bucks, on Thursday night where he had been living under the name Richard Jones after he was released from his latest spell in prison for child abuse.

Police at the home of Barry Bennell in Milton Keynes. Photo: SWNSPolice at the home of Barry Bennell in Milton Keynes. Photo: SWNS
Police at the home of Barry Bennell in Milton Keynes. Photo: SWNS

A number of officers entered the property after arriving in a marked police van and a marked police car pulled up minutes later.

A Golden Retriever was led out of the property on a lead which neighbours said was called Sky.

Two cardboard boxes were also carried out of the bungalow by officers before they were placed into the back of the van.

Multiple boxes of a nutritional drink were also taken from around the side of the house and placed into the van.

Police at the home of Barry Bennell in Milton Keynes. Photo: SWNSPolice at the home of Barry Bennell in Milton Keynes. Photo: SWNS
Police at the home of Barry Bennell in Milton Keynes. Photo: SWNS

A woman who lives opposite Bennell claims she has called the council in a bid to get him removed from the street where children live.

The 67-year-old widow said she’d had run ins in the past with Bennell and she approached him on Saturday night after the news about his past came to light.

She described Bennell as “ill looking”, tall and slim and carries a tissue with him which he spits into due to him previously suffering from mouth cancer.

Caroline Growden, who’s lived in her property in MK for 19 years, said: “He’s always got a tissue in his hand which he spits into as I don’t think he can control the saliva.

“It’s just constantly running saliva and he has lost a lot of weight so he looks quite ill.

“He used to do laptop repairs and I would see him nearly every day but he was gone for nearly a year and his girlfriend had told me he’d gone to Devon to recuperate because he was ill.

“I saw her pack up lots of black bin bags and she sold his car and bought a new one so me and my neighbours just assumed the man had died.

“Now I know he was actually in prison all that time and it was just a guise and that’s what we were supposed to think.

“He seemed more ill when he came back, but I suppose prison would do that to you.”

The retired factory worker said Bennell called himself a “software specialist” and he would go to car boot sales and purchase goods which he then sold online on sites like Ebay.

She said people would then turn up at his house to buy stuff from him and she used to get irate by the number of people parking outside her house which is why she had run ins with him in the past.

Mrs Growden said: “On a few occasions these youngsters around 15/16 were waiting around for him sometimes and he wouldn’t answer the door, but now I understand why.

“He was cautious enough not to open the door to young lads on his own who were trying to buy stuff.”

Mrs Growden said she called the council on Monday to report a “nuisance neighbour”.

She said: “I told them it had come to my attention that the man is a registered paedophile. The woman at the end of the phone said leave it with me and the next thing he (Bennell) came over to me on Tuesday and spoke to me.

“He said they (council) wanted him to go right now but they would give him until tomorrow which was yesterday (Weds) as he had a hospital appointment.

“I’m not afraid of him no way, when he came over and spoke to me he was very civil and a little bit self pitying.”

When the news came to light Mrs Growden had banged on Bennell’s door after reporters told her what her neighbour had been convicted of.

The neighbour believes Bennell moved into the council owned property in the summer of 2011.

She said: “He didn’t answer at first. I banged a couple of times. I said ‘I’m not going away open the door’.

“He opened the door and the first words I remember clearly, I said ‘you have to talk to me don’t you? You have something to say to me and don’t bother BS’ing me’.

“I said before it goes any further he needs to move, ‘you have to start packing for your own protection as well as anyone elses’.

“He was trying to claim that a police officer had it in for him and he was set up.

“I told him to just get out or I was going to the council, so he didn’t go so I went to the council.”

Mrs Growden said she didn’t know Bennell’s name beforehand but had spoken to him on multiple occasions and had no idea about his convictions.

She added: “I do not want people to feel sorry for him because he’s ill. You have to think about all those victims and their families.

“The thing which amused me is he told the council he would need a two bedroom house because he would need a carer.

“He has these vitamin liquid drinks as I don’t think he can eat much solid food and they tried to deliver those this morning but he didn’t answer.”