Baggies ace praises fraudster who helped him cope with grief

The former Hull City star's son Jake Junior suffocated at birth after mistakes were made during the delivery the day after he played for Hull in the FA Cup final in 2014.

A court heard how he suffered suicidal thoughts following the tragedy.

Livermore said Joshua Copp helped him set up a charity in his son's name and supported him with frequent phone calls as he struggled to cope with his grief.

The 27-year-old midfield ace wrote to a judge to praise Copp before he was sentenced along with his father and uncle for their part in stealing £45m from the public purse.

The family, from north west London, splashed out on a fleet of luxury cars, race horses, trips to Las Vegas and mansions in Britain and around the world.

The court heard how they enjoyed 'high living on a grand scale' and lived like kings while employing foreign manual workers on minimum wage.

Geoffrey Copp, 56, his brother Andrew, 51, and his son Joshua, 24, were all found guilty after a trial.

A statement by Livermore, who played in England's World Cup qualifier against Scotland on Saturday, said: "Josh has been very supportive of me and my family during very tough times.

"During the death of my son three years ago he looked after me when I needed the most support.

"We would have frequent phone calls and he took me to the Priory when I was suffering from depression and I considered taking my own life.

"Josh saved me in the darkest hours of mine and my partner's lives.

"He supported me through my mental recovery and helped me set up a charity in my son's name to help young men deal with mental health issues after child death.

"It's difficult to think Josh will not be able to support me and my family. I know he wants to start a family and will make a fantastic dad."

The Copps' business Central Payroll Specialists provided payroll services to recruitment companies and issued invoices to their customers with a 20 per cent VAT applied.

They declared sales amounting to just under £20million when it was more than £250m and kept the VAT due.

Joshua gambled more than a million pounds in a single session at a Las Vegas gambling table and had numerous photos of him posing in private jets, casinos and with bundles of cash in briefcases.

His £4million home was referred to as an 'Aladdin's cave' of luxury material goods including Bentleys worth £300,000 and Rolex and Audemars Piguet watches worth £50,000.

On his mobile phone, detectives found a photo of a notepad showing calculations of how the VAT fraud was worked out and then split between him and his father and uncle.

Despite Livermore's character reference, the trio were jailed for a total of 27-and-half-years at Wood Green Crown Court in London. Geoffrey Copp was banned from running a company for 15 years, Andrew for ten years and Joshua for eight.