 Police managed to control the incident, making four arrests |
Cardiff City fans were attacked in a pub by football hooligans from West Ham United, who travelled to a match in Bournemouth they were not even involved in, police have said. The 50 London hooligans hired a coach and travelled 115 miles to spark a mass brawl before Cardiff's Coca-Cola Cup tie on Tuesday night.
Police are now studying CCTV footage ahead of the league match in Cardiff with West Ham next Tuesday.
Dorset Police made four arrests.
A Cardiff fan in his mid 20s suffered a broken jaw after being struck by a brick and needed hospital treatment.
A second Bluebirds' fan was treated for facial injuries.
Police said that the London hooligans posed as ordinary customers at the Queens Park pub close to Bournemouth's stadium.
 |  It was absolute chaos with people with blood down their faces  |
But on cue, they launched into a rendition of I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles, West Ham's trademark song, and started fighting.
The brawl spilled outside and, after a wall was demolished, bricks were thrown.
A dozen police officers who were on patrol outside the pub managed to control the trouble and made four arrests.
Inspector Martin Webster of Dorset said Tuesday night's trouble had been well-organised on the part of West Ham hooligans.
He said the men were dressed in designer clothing.
Insp Webster said: "Normally with these sort of things we get some sort of prior warning from a network of football intelligence-led police officers.
"But we received no information even though it appeared to be very well organised on the part of the fans from London.
"They hired a coach specifically to drive them from London to Bournemouth. They liaised with each other beforehand as they were not wearing their teams' colours.
"It appears the Cardiff supporters did not arrange to meet them.
"They came here to have a few drinks and then watch the football. On the whole they were well behaved.
"But at around 7pm between 35 and 50 people got off the coach and went to the Queens Park pub."
A barman at the pub said: "A coach load from London pulled up and came in and started mingling and acting as normal punters.
"Then a few minutes later they started singing I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles, and with that all hell broke loose.
"It was absolute chaos with people with blood down their faces. It spilled outside and the fighting carried on."
'Absolute chaos'
Four coach loads of Cardiff fans and other supporters in cars had travelled down for the game, including children on half term holidays.
Gwyn Davies of the Valleys Rams supporters' club said there was "pandemonium" in the pub.
"About 20 or 30 West Ham fans burst in - a few others had been at the bar beforehand.
"Our fans defended themselves, and also there were old men there, women and children.
"It was crazy, there was no warning - it was a mild evening and I'd been out in the beer garden talking to police from Cardiff and Bournemouth."
Mr Davies said he believed that the supporter with the broken jaw would need three operations.
A Bournemouth supporter who saw the group moments before the violence started said: "They appeared quite drunk and rowdy.
"I thought it was odd because they had London accents and none of them were wearing any football colours."
Police have arrested two men from London and two from the Bournemouth area for public order offences. They are aged between 19 and 30.
Officers are also examining CCTV footage in a bid to identify the troublemakers and will also report the incident to South Wales Police ahead of Cardiff's game in the Championship against West Ham on 2 November.
But Mr Davies said he did not think there would be trouble.
"We've not had trouble in Cardiff for a good while, the police have got the situation well under control.
"We heard one West Ham fan bragging that they had come down on Tuesday night as that was their chance, as they would not be able to do the same next week."
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