Vehicles from Alpine of North Wales were 'pelted' with bottles of beer as they carried fans home from the FA Cup semi-final
A North Wales coach company caught up in violence between rival football fans has slammed police for failing to keep them apart.
Chris Owens, managing director of Llandudno company Alpine of North Wales, said his vehicles were “pelted by bottles of beer” by hooligans at a service station after police failed to give drivers designated drop-off points for rival fans.
Vehicles from Alpine had also stopped at Norton Canes services on the M6 Toll in Staffordshire when an Everton fan was knocked unconscious during a brawl with Manchester United supporters ahead of the FA Cup semi-final at Wembley on Saturday.
No one from the company’s coaches was involved in the incident.
Video footage has emerged of the scrap, which left the man out cold for at least 10 minutes.
Chris said his drivers, who were transporting local Everton supporters from Llandudno and Conwy, were left “shocked” by the lack of police presence.
“In the run up to the departure, our operations staff had made full enquiries with the Merseyside Police football liaison team to ascertain if there were any special measures in place with regards to stopping places for fans en route to the fixture,” said Chris.
“Traditionally, fans from opposing teams would be directed to different motorway services to ensure such hooliganism was minimised.
“Apparently, in this instance, the liaison officers involved did not believe that there was any risk of violence and no special measures were put in place.
“No passengers on board our coach or any member of staff was involved in the affray in any manner or form.
“The party that we had on board consisted of several young families who were going to Wembley for a great day out.
“Fortunately, most of our passengers were inside the services when the incident caught on video took place.
“Our drivers have said that they were shocked by the complete absence of any police officers both at Norton Canes on the journey to Wembley and then again at Newport Pagnell services on the way home, where they decided not to stop as the coach was pelted by bottles of beer.”
Bob Roberts, secretary of the Conwy County Everton FC Supporters Club, said: “A load of coaches from both Everton and Manchester United used the services as a designated stop-off point on the way down to Wembley.
“Our coach was pictured but I can categorically say that no-one from the club was part of it.
“What makes it even more strange is that we were in the service station having a coffee with a load of Manchester United supporters at the time.
“When we got back on the bus, our driver even asked if we had seen the fight, but we were oblivious to the whole thing.”
The Manchester Evening News reports that, at least initially, the Everton fans at Norton Canes far outnumbered their rivals and the Toffees fans were ribbing the United supporters with some “light-hearted banter”.
But things suddenly turned ugly, and an Everton fan in a blue T-shirt and a United fan in a grey T-shirt began grappling and throwing punches.
A third man - a United fan in a black jacket and white T-shirt - can clearly be seen stepping in and landing a huge blow on the man in blue from his blindside.
An eyewitness told the Mirror that the Everton fan was knocked unconscious for at least 10 minutes.
He did not receive any medical attention, went on to Wembley and was “laughing about it later”, the Mirror has been told.
The witness said: “When we got there, it was chocka with Everton coaches.
“Then one United coach arrived and at first it was great. There was just a bit of banter.
“But then another United coach arrived and it went sour pretty quickly, bottles started flying.
“The lad who got knocked out. He was out cold for 10 minutes.”
The witness, a dad who was taking his daughter to Wembley for the first time, slammed the behaviour of violent fans of both teams.
He said: “People were panicking, we were terrified. I can’t believe they didn’t plan for two sets of fans at Cannock.”
A spokesperson for Staffordshire Police confirmed they were called to a disturbance at Cannock services but, when officers arrived, the incident had ended. No arrests were made.
They added that officers had been patrolling the services for “reassurance” during the arrival of 57 supporter coaches through the day.
see-http://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/north-wales-coach-firm-caught-11240946
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