Former Manchester City and Sunderland midfielder Adam Johnson could return home to a war with neighbours when he is released from prison.
Convicted paedophile Johnson was jailed in 2016 for child sex offences, but he is expected to leave prison on March 22 after serving half of his six-year sentence – as The Sun reports.
The 31-year-old lived in County Durham with his ex-girlfriend Stacey Flounders and played for Sunderland before he was sent to prison, staying in a luxury £2 million mansion.
Cricket superstar Ben Stokes purchased the property for £1.8m after Johnson was locked up, but the disgraced footballer made plans to move into a new home before he went away.
The Sun reports that Johnson commissioned a seven-bedroom home to be built on the site of a smaller property, which remained unfinished before he served his time in prison.
Neighbours living in the area around the huge mansion in Durham reacted in shock and anger after plans were unveiled for the gargantuan sized home which included a bowling alley and an indoor swimming pool.
The property “sticks out like a sore thumb” already according to a local councillor and some people living nearby raised concerns over the potential damage to the environment the extensions could cause.
The councillor stated: “This further application should not be granted as it seeks to enlarge the already adverse impact on the area as the house as built at present is totally unlike any other in the drive and stands out like a sore thumb.”
“The current property already denigrates the amenity of the area,” one resident exclaimed – as per The Sun.
“To extend it still further would be to denigrate a conservation area of natural beauty.”
The Sun states that Johnson earned £60,000 a week while playing for Sunderland, but it is unlikely that the disgraced footballer will be able to resume his playing career in England, with a move abroad his only viable route back into the game upon his release.
