Disgraced footballer Adam Johnson has lost an appeal against his sentence and conviction for child sex offences, his sister has claimed.
The shamed Sunderland star’s sister Faye took to Twitter to share the news with her followers.
She has been campaigning to overturn her brother’s convictions since he was jailed in March.
The 23-year-old wrote on Twitter: “Absolutely devastated that ‘the single Judge has rejected my brother’s appeal against sentence and conviction’ but I can assure every supporter that it has made me stronger and I will never give up!
“I will keep everyone posted as to the next steps!
“Also my appeal page has been temporarily removed but will be back up and running very soon with the link to my website!
“Thank you to everyone for your continued support daily it means a lot and keeps me going.”
Former England star Johnson was jailed for six years for engaging in sexual activity with a besotted 15-year-old fan.
The 28-year-old’s trial at Bradford Crown Court heard that he had kissed and sexually touched the girl in his Range Rover, in a secluded spot in County Durham.
Johnson was also arrested for possessing extreme pornography, and pre-trial hearings heard that police found medicines in a safe when he was arrested which indicated he may have been suffering from sexually transmitted infections.
I will never give up ❤️ #justiceforjohnson pic.twitter.com/ptGfc9wAcL
— Faye Johnson (@f10aye) 11 July 2016