Abuse victims of former football coach Barry Bennell in a huddle outside Liverpool Crown Court yesterday. Pic/AFP

Former British football trainer Barry Bennell was sentenced to 30 years in prison yesterday for abusing 12 boys he coached between 1979 and 1991, with the judge branding him sheer evil. Bennell, 64, who coached at Manchester City and other teams, was found guilty last week of dozens of child sexual offences, including indecent assault, buggery and attempted buggery. Police have said scores more complainants have come forward since the case started, bringing the number of possible victims to more than 100. "You were the devil incarnate. You stole their childhoods and their innocence to satisfy your own perversion," Judge Clement Goldstone said as he read out the sentence in a court in Liverpool, northwest England.