Keith Weller, a former Chelsea player, had allegations made against him by two women who claimed he indecently assaulted them

All five of London's Premier League clubs and three teams in the Championship are now caught up in hundreds of historic sexual abuse claims.

In what is quickly becoming the biggest scandal in the history of British football, 77 clubs from the top flight to non-league are now being investigated by police.

There have now been 255 allegations made since former Crewe Alexandra player Andy Woodward lifted the lid on the murky world of abuse in football by opening up about being abused by ex-coach Barry Bennell.

It is understood that Arsenal, Chelsea, West Ham, Tottenham and Crystal Palace are being investigated by the Sexual Offences, Exploitation and Child Abuse Command.

A spokesman for the Metropolitan Police said: 'The allegations are connected with individuals at 77 named clubs or teams.

'The breakdown for those clubs is five in the Premiership, three against Championship clubs, three against clubs in Leagues One and Two and there have also been 66 other named clubs which would include non-league or non-professional or amateur teams.'

Earlier this month, the National Police Chiefs' Council (NPCC), which is co-ordinating the nationwide police investigation Operation Hydrant, said more than 500 complainants and 184 potential suspects had been identified.

The inquiry involves up to 248 football clubs, spanning all tiers of the game from the Premier League down to amateur level.

Latest figures show the total number of potential victims standing at 526, with 97 per cent identified as male. Their ages span from 20 to four.

Chelsea have been openly dragged into the scandal, with former player Gary Johnson admitting he was abused as a trainee in the 1970s

A spokesman for Crystal Palace said today: 'We have had no contact from the Metropolitan Police so we have no idea whether these allegations relate to Crystal Palace FC. Clearly, should we be contacted, we will co-operate fully with any inquiry and give every possible assistance to the police in their investigations.

'We urge anyone aware of any instances of abuse that have ever taken place at the club, or who has been a victim, to report it to the police or contact the FA's NSPCC helpline.'

Other clubs are not thought to have commented on the investigations yet.

Chelsea have been openly dragged into the scandal, with former player Gary Johnson admitting he was abused as a trainee in the 1970s by the club's chief scout Eddie Heath, who is now dead.

The club apologised to Johnson for the abuse he suffered after he waived the confidentiality clause in the £50,000 agreement they made with him in 2015.

Weller also played for Millwall and Tottenham Hotspur.

Johnson was a member of Chelsea's first team from 1978 to 1981, but joined the club as an 11-year-old in 1970 and claimed he had been groomed from the age of 13.

Speaking of the impact of the abuse, he said: 'I felt shame, I felt my childhood had been taken away. I spent my late teens in turmoil, absolute turmoil.'

Two women have also claimed they were indecently assaulted by Keith Weller, who played for Tottenham, Millwall, Chelsea and Leicester and was capped four times by England during a glittering career.

The scandal came to light after it was revealed that former Crewe Alexandra scout abused player Andy Woodward

The accusations were first made in 2002 when a number of women told the Metropolitan Police that Weller had molested them as children in the mid-1960s and early 1980s.

Critics said the force's original handling of the Weller case is an indictment of how child sex-abuse allegations were treated before the Jimmy Savile scandal.

But after an inquiry spanning several months the Crown Prosecution Service ruled no charges should be brought.

Former Crewe player Andy Woodward waived his right of anonymity to reveal that he suffered years of abuse at the hands of the former youth coach Barry Bennell.

In court proceedings it emerged that Bennell had abused one child on Crewe's training pitches and another at the home of former manager Dario Gradi, who did not know about it.

Bennell also did work for Manchester City and Stoke City before moving to the United States.

He was jailed for nine years in 1998 for sexual offences against children after admitting 23 specimen charges of sexual offences against six boys, aged nine to 15.