Alker jailed for four years

Ex-Salford skipper Malcolm Alker has been sentenced to four years in prison after pleading guilty to two counts of armed robbery as well as carrying a bladed article.

The former England international admitted to robbing a KFC restaurant and Tesco Express store in October and was sentenced at Bolton Crown Court on Friday.

Alker and his co-defendant Michael Naylor wore balaclavas during their raid of a KFC in Pemberton while being armed with a machete.

They took a pack of GPS tracked £20 notes from the Tesco in Whelley, before police tracked them down to Delegarte Street in Ince.

The pair will be eligible for parole on January 12 2020.

Alker played for than 350 games for Salford between 1997 and 2010 while earning two caps for England.

He captained the club for nearly a decade and even became a coach at the club after hanging up his boots, but left in 2011.