Adam Johnson’s girlfriend ‘knew 15-year-old girl’ groomed by footballer

Former Sunderland winger denies having oral sex with the girl in a Ranger Rover in January last year

Adam Johnson's girlfriend Stacey Flounders has begun giving evidence at his trial at Bradford Crown Court (Getty Images)

The girlfriend of England footballer Adam Johnson has told a court she knew his alleged victim.

Stacey Flounders, who is the mother of Johnson's year-old daughter, began giving evidence as part of the 28-year-old former Sunderland FC winger's defence at Bradford Crown Court over charges of sexual activity with a child.

She said she had seen the teenage girl waiting for Johnson after Sunderland home games.

Adam Johnson stands accused of sexual activity with a child (Getty Images)

Ms Flounders was asked by Johnson's defence barrister, Orlando Pownall QC, whether her relationship with the footballer will continue.

She said she does not see a future for their relationship "at the moment" and they were going to "remain friends", Sky News reports.

When asked why she had decided to remain with Johnson after his arrest she said: "Because he was honest with me and I knew he was telling the truth. We'd just had a daughter. I wanted us to be a family".

Johnson has admitted kissing a 15-year-old girl in his car after grooming the teenager using social media.

But the player denies that more serious sex acts - including oral sex, digital penetration and putting her hand on his penis - took place between him and the girl in his Range Rover on January 30 last year.

Ms Flounders said Johnson had initially told her the girl was 16 but admitted she was 15 when she asked again two days later.

She said Johnson had cheated on her with "quite a few women".

She also admitted to feeling uncomfortable driving the car where the incident was alleged to take place.

On Tuesday the footballer - who was sacked by his club after admitting to grooming - gave evidence where he admitted he know how young she was they first started talking.

The court heard how the pair exchanged telephone numbers and exchanged "flirty" Whatsapp messages for several weeks before arranging to meet in January for Johnson to sign a Sunderland shirt for the girl.

He also admitted he had attempted to "play down" the incident initially because he was "panicking".

He said: "I was panicking. I had all these thoughts going through my mind about everything. To name a couple, my career, my family, I was in turmoil."

But he said he was "surprised" when the girl told police that further sexual activity had taken place in the car and said he felt like "someone else was telling her to say these things".

Additional reporting by PA