Jail for Christmas hamper conman

A conman who fleeced former England boss Sam Allardyce and a host of West Ham stars out of £61,000 in a Christmas ‘hampers and champers’ scam has been jailed for four years. Stephen Ackerman, 48, fleeced Allardyce and the players after selling them cut-price Harrods and Fortnum & Masons hampers which never materialised. Ackerman turned up at the Hammers’ old Chadwell Heath training ground using the alias ‘Mark Kingston’ touting the luxury goods the day before the club’s 1-1 draw…