The former chief executive of JJB Sports, Christopher Ronnie, has been sent to jail for taking £1 million in backhanders from suppliers of the chain during his tenure.

Mr Ronnie was found guilty in November for taking the money in 2008, which he then used to buy property in Florida. Ronnie's business partners David Ball and David Barrington were also jailed for 18 months each for their parts in the fraud.

Mr Ronnie was found guilty of receiving a payment of £650,000 in February 2008 from Performance Brands - with which Mr Ball and Mr Barrington were both associated.

In June that year, he received £197,000 from another supplier Fashion and Sport, which also had links to the pair.

A third payment, again from Fashion and Sport, was made to Ronnie later in 2008, this time for $250,000 (£134,000).

David Ball and David Barrington asked an engineer to delete emails relating to the transactions, but instead he contacted the Serious Fraud Office.

JJB collapsed in 2012 with £150 million in debts, forcing the closure of 160 shops at the cost of 3,500 jobs.