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Former Premier League midfielder Kieron Dyer has shocked and saddened football fans by revealing he was sexually abused as a child - a secret he has kept for 20 years of his life.

The ex-Newcastle, West Ham, QPR and England man conducted a lengthy interview with the Mail's Ollie Holt to reveal the horrible details of the time he was in the care of his great uncle Kenny as a 12-year-old.

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The revelation perhaps goes some way to explaining some of the 'negative' things Dyer did during his playing career, such as fighting with Lee Bowyer and crashing his Ferrari, and certainly say a lot about his strength of character to have been able to continue living out his dream.

As quoted in the Mail's article, Dyer said: "Then I woke up. I woke up but I was scared to open my eyes. Kenny had slipped his hand down my trousers while I was asleep and he was fondling me. I froze. I was petrified. I didn't know what to do. Kenny must have sensed that I'd woken up because he started shushing me and trying to reassure me.

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"He kept asking me to let him finish what he was doing. It was like he was in a trance. He said he'd buy me loads of chocolate. He pulled my trousers all the way down to my ankles. I knew he was doing something terribly wrong but I was frozen. I couldn't move. I couldn't speak. I couldn't do anything."

Dyer, who says he finds it difficult to maintain eye contact with people in normal life as a result of his experience, claims to have only told his family of the events a year ago, and his dad only a few weeks ago.

The brave star, who retired from the game in 2013, has a book out later this month with Oliver Holt, which can be ordered here.