Adam Johnson has been sentenced to six years in prison for child sex offences.

The former Sunderland winger was handed the jail term by judge Jonathan Rose at Bradford Crown Court this afternoon, weeks after he was found guilty of a count of penetrating a 15-year-old schoolgirl with his fingers.

"She had only just turned 15 when you began to groom her," Rose told Johnson as he delivered his verdict. "You found her sexually attractive even though you knew her to be just 15.

"Your messages to the victim were quite clear. You asked to meet in a secluded place and told her to delete your messages.

"You were having multiple sexual partners. You viewed the victim as just another female to get with, you ignored the fact she was 15."

Earlier, Johnson's defence had urged the judge to not "get carried away" and be "proportionate" with his sentencing.

Rose deemed the offences to be category 1A, the most serious type, telling Johnson: "All of this is entirely your own responsibility and fault."

The judge also ordered Johnson to pay £50,000 of the prosecution's costs of £67,132.

Johnson, who has already confirmed that he will appeal the verdict, reportedly showed no emotion as the sentence was delivered.