I think I possibly did some things out of loneliness

Chilling confession of ice hockey gold medallist who led sick double life grooming and raping girls and young women. Andrew Bardsley reports

STANDING beside his teammates as the national anthem played, Philip Hamer had the world at his feet.

He was representing Great Britain in the sport he loved, and had just won a gold medal.

He and his team had made history, with Britain gaining promotion and being set to rub shoulders with the greats of the sport of ice hockey the following year.

It was all that Hamer, who had been mad about hockey since his early years, had dreamt of. But the sportsman from Salford, then in his early 20s, had a dark secret.

It was in 2011, the same year of his crowning glory, that Hamer first came to the attention of the police.

Detectives had received a complaint regarding his behaviour towards an underage girl.

A formal complaint was not made at that time and the allegation went nowhere. Hamer continued to play hockey, on and off.

He later found work as an extra on soaps including Coronation Street and Hollyoaks, and worked for United and City in off-field matchday roles, often coming via agencies. Police had spoken to him in 2011, and as the years which passed, he may have believed he'd got away with it.

That brush with the law could have served as a warning, to change his ways and stay out of trouble. But Hamer's arrogance knew no bounds.

The fulfilling of his sexual desires, no matter how depraved or illegal they were, came first. The victims he left in his wake came a distant second.

More than a decade later, that girl, who complained about him in 2011, has been vindicated. But in the 12 years it took for a second enquiry to be launched, Hamer went on to commit a campaign of rape and sexual abuse.

He abused six other women and girls during that time. He is also a prolific voyeur and pervert.