London’s Burning actor John Alford, 54, dies in prison | Prisons and probation

Actor John Alford died in prison, two months after being imprisoned for sexually assaulting two teenage girls.

Alford, 54, was convicted and sentenced to eight and a half years in prison for the attacks, which occurred during a party at a friend’s house in January.

The actor, who starred in London’s Burning and the BBC show Grange Hill, died at HMP Bure in Norfolk on Friday, the Prison Service said.

Alford, whose real name is John Shannon, was convicted in 2022 of four counts of sexual activity with a 14-year-old girl and assault by penetration of a 15-year-old girl at a property in Hertfordshire.

Jurors heard during the trial that he sexually assaulted the girls while they were drunk after a night out at the bar.

A Prison Service spokesman said: “John Shannon died in prison on 13 March 2026.

“As with all deaths in custody, the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman will investigate.”