A professional footballer convicted of rape is offering a £50,000 reward for new information which leads to his acquittal.

 

Ched Evans, who lived at Millhouse Green, was jailed for five years last year.

 

The 24-year-old striker, an ex-Wales international, played for Sheffield United at the time of his conviction but maintains his innocence.

 

A website, created by his family and supporters, has been set up and offers cash for new information which leads to his name being cleared in the Court of Appeal.

 

The site describes the conviction as a 'gross miscarriage of justice'.

 

It reads: "This website endeavours to redress that balance by presenting the evidence to the public in a balanced and accurate way in order that people can assess the salient facts of this case and make their own judgement as to whether the jury’s decision in this case was just.

 

"We would like to state that this website in no way seeks to undermine the seriousness of rape or trivialise the suffering that rape victims suffer. We recognise that rape is a terrible crime which, if committed, ought to carry a severe sentence.

 

"This website is not about the severity of the sentence, we are stating Ched did not commit the crime of rape at all."

 

Evans was convicted at Caernarfon Crown Court on the grounds he raped a woman who was too drunk to consent in a hotel in Rhyl, north Wales, after a night out in May 2011.