Former England footballer “Gary Neville close to tears in witness box as he defends his father accused of sexually assaulting woman”

Gary Neville was close to tears as he told a court today how sexual assault claims made against his father had ‘ripped the soul’ out of his parents’ marriage.

The former England right back was in the witness box to defend the reputation of his father, Neville Neville, who he described as a principled man who always told the truth.

Neville senior, 64, is accused of drunkenly forcing himself upon a middle-aged woman outside his house in Bury, Greater Manchester, after she gave him a lift home in the early hours of March 23.