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Five more police forces open historical sexual abuse probes

Five more police forces open investigations into reports of historical sexual abuse in football.

The child sexual abuse scandal which has rocked the footballing world continues to grow in scale as five more police forces have opened investigations.

North Yorkshire, Avon & Somerset, North Wales, Essex and Norfolk have launched probes into allegations of historical abuse in the sport, taking the number of investigating forces to 14.

Dorset, Staffordshire, Greater Manchester, Cambridgeshire, Hampshire, Cheshire, Northumbria, Scotland Yard and Police Scotland are also looking into the matter.

There have been 250 reports of non-recent sexual abuse issued to police from within football, and more than 50 calls were made to an NSPCC hotline set up to support those affected in the initial hours of it opening.

"We are currently working with the national centre, Operation Hydrant, to ensure our response is co-ordinated and efficient; the people who have courageously reported what happened to them are central in our considerations in this regard," North Wales Police detective chief inspector Andrew Williams said in a statement.

Several teams have become embroiled in the scandal, including Crewe Alexandra and more recently Chelsea, who are investigating allegations of abuse against a former staff member who worked for the club in the 1970s and has since passed away.

The FA has also launched an internal review into the allegations.

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Bradley Dack (C) of Gillingham scores the first goal of the game during the Sky Bet League One match between Crawley Town and Gillingham at The Checkatrade.com Stadium on March 28, 2015
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