Former Wearside sports coach Brian Phelps, who took bronze in the 1960 Rome Olympics when he was 16, has been sentenced to nine years in prison after he sexually abused schoolgirls as young as six.

The 64-year-old used to live in Sunderland with his Wearside-born wife Monica Rutherford – an international gymnast – at Cleveland Road, High Barnes.

He also lived at The Elms, Ashbrooke, and later moved to High Grange Estate, Belmont, Durham City.

While living in Sunderland in 1966, Phelps was cleared by Blaydon magistrates of flashing at a 14-year-old girl at Dunston swimming baths.

He went on to work as a gymnastics and trampoline instructor at a club in Poole, Dorset.

Yesterday Bournemouth Crown Court heard that he abused three girls, aged six to 15, while giving them one-to-one tuition at the club over about eight years in the 1970s and 80s.

The attacks came to light last year after one victim complained to police and two others then came forward.

Phelps, who retired to Le Val Besnot, France, admitted to 42 counts of indecent assault and gross indecency against the girls.

The court heard that after taking 14-year-old girl's virginity, Phelps told her "if she told anyone she would be the one in the wrong".

Judge Samuel Wiggs told Phelps: "I have read the statements of all three of them as to the effect which that has had on them through the many years of their lives since these offences were committed."

Phelps will serve two-thirds of the sentence before being considered for release.

He was placed on the Sex Offenders' Register for life and banned from working with children indefinitely.

Phelps, who also won Commonwealth golds in 1962 and 1966, was 22 times national high diving champion and a finalist in the 1978 BBC Superstars competition, before becoming TV sports commentator.

He had coached about 280,000 children.

Phelps denied four charges of rape and one of attempted rape and not guilty verdicts were formally recorded on those counts.

Detective Constable Andy Shah, of Dorset Police's Child Protection Unit, said outside court: "This is one of the worst cases of child abuse certainly that Dorset has dealt with."