Former Grange Hill and London's Burning actor John Alford reportedly placed a winning bet on a horse just hours before he was found dead in his prison cell. The 54-year-old had been sentenced to eight and a half years in January for child sex offences.
According to close friend Justin Smith, Alford phoned his sister to place a wager on Johnny Jury's at the Cheltenham Festival. The horse, at odds of 20/1, won the Albert Bartlett Novices' Hurdle on Friday, but Alford had already been found unresponsive.
Alford was convicted in September on four counts of sexual activity with a child, along with two counts of sexual assault and assault by penetration involving a second young victim. The offences took place at a friend's home, with both victims aged 14 and 15 at the time.
His death on 13 March is being investigated by the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman. A post-mortem and toxicology tests are due to take place to determine the cause of death.
Alford rose to fame as a child star in Grange Hill and later played Billy Ray in London's Burning for five years. His final screen role was in the 2017 film The Hatton Garden Job.
