Image copyright Wales news service Image caption Ched Evans' case against Brabners had been due to be heard at the High Court

Ched Evans has reached an out-of-court settlement with his original defence team over their handling of the case where he was found guilty of rape.

The conviction was later quashed and overturned at a retrial.

The BBC understands the Welsh footballer, 30, who now plays for League One Fleetwood Town, will receive a six-figure sum.

A spokesman for the law firm Brabners said Mr Evans' case had been "entirely without merit".

Mr Evans was originally convicted following a trial of raping a 19-year-old woman in a Premier Inn near Rhyl, Denbighshire, in May 2011.

At the time, he was playing for Sheffield United and was earning a reported £18,000 a week.

But the Court of Appeal quashed his conviction and ordered a retrial in 2016.

Private investigators gathered new evidence, with a £50,000 reward offered for information to help his case.

In a rare move, the jury at Cardiff Crown Court heard from two men who had had sex with the complainant around the time of the rape allegation.

The jury took less than three hours to find Mr Evans not guilty of the charge following the eight-day trial.

The spokesman for Brabners said: "We are glad that Ched Evans has agreed not to pursue this case, which we believe was entirely without merit.

"Brabners put forward a strong defence of Mr Evans claim following a thorough process and we were prepared to vigorously defend our handling of the case."