The policeman heading England's fight against World Cup hooligans in Japan has said he has "no doubt" there will be trouble during the tournament.

But Ron Hogg, assistant chief constable of Durham Constabulary, said he hoped the problems would be on a small scale.

And he revealed that at least 7,000 fans have now been screened ahead of their plans to travel to the Far East.

Mr Hogg will be spearheading England's fight against hooliganism when he flies out to Japan on Sunday.

I'm not saying we are going to be having tea and scones every afternoon but we have done more than ever to prevent disorder

Assistant Chief Constable Ron Hogg

About 4,000 fans who had bought tickets through the FA and a further 3,000 who got tickets through Fifa have been checked.

Mr Hogg said as a result, 11 will be stopped from travelling.

To date, 349 English fans have been deemed a risk and of those 197 will be refused entry by the Asian authorities.

A further 152 will be subjected to more immigration checks.

Mr Hogg said: "We know of 11 that have obtained tickets from Fifa and we will be writing to them to advise them not to travel."

Mr Hogg - the head of the nation's specialist intelligence unit responsible for policing England fans abroad - said that he expected around 8,000 England fans to be attending games.

Mr Hogg is leading England's anti-hooligan efforts

He said: "I'm sure there will be disorder, there's no doubt about it, but hopefully on a small scale.

"I'm not saying we are going to be having tea and scones every afternoon but I believe we have done more than ever to prevent disorder in Japan."

In recent months Mr Hogg has travelled to Japan and counterparts from there have visited England to see how matches and fans are policed.

Mr Hogg added: "Part of my role is debunking the myth about English fans when they go abroad.

Water cannons

"That myth is that they are the world's worst and cause mayhem wherever they go.

"It's my genuine belief - and it's spoken as a Scotsman - that English fans don't deserve the reputation they have but we do have a lot of hard work to do to tackle the problems.

"I think the important time for me will be the first weekend.

"If we can get through that without incident I'm sure the Japanese police will be more confident about the way they deal with English fans.

"The Japanese police have a wide range of apparel available to them, from nets to water cannons, but I certainly hope we don't find that kind of weapon used over there."

Meanwhile, the director of the security division of Japan's National Police Agency has warned that hooligans who violate the law during the World Cup could do time in a Japanese jail.

Yasuhiko Nishimura said: "Arrested hooligans will be handled in conjunction with Japanese law.

"Some people may have to serve time in Japan in extreme cases."

Nishimura said that most arrested hooligans will be sent back to their countries and that Japan's immigration laws have been amended to allow for quicker deportation procedures.