THE gymnastics club where convicted paedophile Ashley Wilson worked as a coach and welfare officer has said they have been left 'betrayed and shocked' by his shocking crimes.

Wilson, 32, from Winsford, was sentenced on Friday (January 29) at Chester Crown Court in relation to a total of 17 counts, the most serious of which being the rape of a child under the age of 13.

He was told by Judge Patrick Thompson he will have to serve at least two-thirds of a 15 year jail term, before he is eligible for parole, with a further year added to his sentence to be served while on license.

As part of his conviction, Wilson, will have to sign the sex offenders register and be subject to a sexual harm prevention order for the rest of this life.

In a post on its Facebook page, Cheshire Gymnastics, which is managed by Mark Hudson and his wife Laura, sought to reassure concerned members and members of the public.

It read: "A letter has been sent to all of our members today to reassure you all about this awful incident involving ex-employee Ashley Wilson.

"The crimes have wholly taken place outside of our club and no gymnast or member of our gymnastics community has been affected.

"The fact is, our Safeguarding is of the highest standard and therefore we have done our job protecting everybody from this individual.

"We have been commended by The Police and British Gymnastics for never relaxing our Safeguarding protocols.

"We were advised not to communicate his arrest to protect any victim and their investigation.

"We only knew ourselves the crimes after yesterday’s media the same as you.

"We have all been betrayed and shocked but this individual does not reflect our values as parents ourselves, as professionals in the sport we love or our values as a team.

"This will not diminish our passion and determination to continue providing the very best of safe, fun and professional services to our community."

The Guardian has approached Cheshire Gymnastics Club for further comment.