TWENTY-ONE people were arrested as trouble flared before and after Carlisle United’s huge sellout match against Leeds at the weekend.
Hooligans wreaked havoc in three city centre pubs two hours before Saturday’s kick-off.
And trouble continued after the game following a dramatic match in which Carlisle defeated the Yorkshire giants 3–1 in front of a crowd of nearly 17,000.
Police had 130 officers on duty in an operation described as the largest of its kind in the city in more than 30 years.
Arrests were made in the city centre and at the ground before and after the match.
Of those arrested, 13 were Leeds fans, aged between 16 and 52, and eight were Carlisle men, aged between 21 to 47.
Some pubs and bars at the top of Botchergate closed their doors while Brunton Park emptied of its supporters, which included 3,400 travelling Leeds fans.
Police in riot gear lined Warwick Road as match-goers poured into town towards the station.
Locked inside pubs, drinkers peered wide-eyed out of windows as crowds congregated. They stared d as chanting and scuffles began in a street taken over by flashing blue lights.
Fearful passers-by quickened their pace as opposing fans were separated and contained by police with batons, vans and dogs, as well as horses drafted in from Cleveland Constabulary.
Officers were on high alert after trouble in three pubs in Botchergate earlier in the afternoon.
Scores of Leeds fans arrived at Carlisle Station at 1pm and were frisked by police for any hidden weapons before being allowed to leave the station.
Violence soon followed, with officers arriving within seconds of disorder breaking out inside and outside Walkabout, the Border Rambler and Woodrow Wilson.
Shards of glass were left scattered over pavements outside the Rambler and Woodrow Wilson, as thugs suspected of smashing windows were taken away in police vans.
A doorman at the Border Rambler said: “It was worse than the Millwall match.
“There were about 50 Leeds fans in here. The police ordered us to lock the doors to try to contain them and, when they couldn’t get out they just started chucking anything they could get hold of – tables, chairs, there were bottles flying past my head.”
Seven arrests were made before the match started and 13 afterwards, with people being held on suspicion of affray, criminal damage, being drunk and disorderly and public disorder.
A 22-year-old Carlisle man was arrested during the game following a pitch invasion.
A total of 18 people were later charged and will now appear before a court.
Chief Superintendent Andy Davidson, area commander for north Cumbria, said: “This was the largest operation of its kind in maybe 30 years.
“I think we have to accept that if Carlisle are promoted to the Championship, operations on this scale could become the norm, rather than the exception.
“In overall terms, the policing of this event was a success, not withstanding a small minority who spoiled the enjoyment for others.
“It was particularly disappointing to see large numbers of young boys from the Carlisle area loitering in the city centre, and again I would appeal to parents to know where their children are on match days.
“Our focus, as always, was to ensure the safety of the fans, both home and away, and of the local community.
“Thank you to stewards in the grounds for their support during the operation.”
Reg Watson, chair of Cumbria Police Authority, was at the station before the match to watch the police operation.
He said: “It’s important that the police authority are involved in operations like this. Our aim is to try to stop the trouble makers.”
Officers met each train that arrived from Leeds and also stopped buses at Southwaite Services on the M6 before allowing them to travel on to Carlisle.
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