Fighting broke out near the waterfront in Bristol

Groups of rival supporters of Sheffield United and Wolves clashed ahead of a play-off match in Cardiff on Sunday, and police say the trouble in Bristol was thought to be between Sheffield fans and local people

They are studying CCTV footage in a bid to identify the ringleaders behind what they believe was "orchestrated and organised" violence.

Extra officers, dog handlers and a helicopter were used in Bristol to prevent further outbreaks of the trouble.

It was unbelievable, I have never seen violence like that in my life Paul Tudor The Pitcher and Piano

A number of officers suffered minor injuries.

The fans were in the Bristol area ahead of Monday's match at Cardiff's Millennium Stadium.

A spokesman for Avon and Somerset police told BBC News Online: "A small number of arrests have been made for public order offences."

Meanwhile, South Wales Police said they had made 14 arrests in Cardiff, after Cardiff City beat Queen's Park Rangers 1-0 to win promotion to Division One.

A spokeswoman said most of those arrested were Cardiff fans, and offences had ranged from violent disorder to ticket touting.

Clashes

In Weston-super-Mare about 100 Sheffield United and Wolves supporters were involved in several disturbances between 1600 and 1700 BST on Sunday.

Extra police were called in to tackle the violence

Police in the town said that at one point a chair was thrown through a window and that a number of arrests had been made.

And from about 1630 BST in Bristol groups of Sheffield United fans were involved in clashes with local football supporters in the city centre's harbourside area.

Police said sporadic fighting had broken out throughout the afternoon and early evening, after the groups were refused entry to bars.

'Complete shock'

Paul Tudor, a manager of the Pitcher and Piano bar on Bristol's harbourside, said large numbers of opposing fans had been involved in a "western style stand-off" on the bridge outside the pub.

"There were about 60 yobs on each side of the bridge and they ran at each other with tables and chairs and bottles - it looked like organised hooliganism," he told BBC News Online.

"It was unbelievable, I have never seen violence like that in my life.

"The scary thing was it was Sunday afternoon and there were parents, children and grandparents around."

Mr Tudor said his staff had gathered as many people inside the bar as possible and waited for police to arrive.

"Everyone was in complete shock - Bristol is a ghost town now. It's normally very busy, but everyone has gone home and shut themselves away."

Promotion

Around 70 police officers, including five dog-handling teams, were sent out to control the violence and a helicopter was used to spot trouble makers.

Inspector Barney Gardom said: "We implemented a well-rehearsed police strategy for dealing with large disturbances of this nature.

"Reinforcements were quickly brought in from other parts of the force area to support central Bristol officers during the operation, and we also had a tremendous amount of support from various pubs and clubs, particularly those in the Waterfront area."

The team which wins the play-off final will be automatically promoted to the Premiership, a move attracting an estimated �25m.