Footballer loses challenge over sex conviction

Coventry City striker Marlon King, 30, who was sentenced in October last year to 18 months' in jail for sexual assault, had his application for permission to appeal rejected by three judges.

They said the prosecution had a "strong" case against King, whose former clubs include Hull City, Leeds United and Middlesbrough, and announced: "We have no doubt that this conviction is safe."

During his trial, the jury heard the 5m player, who had been celebrating his wife's pregnancy, launched an "unprovoked" attack after being "cold-shouldered" by women in the Soho Revue Bar in 2008. He claimed it was a case of mistaken identity.