Teen hooliganism trebles

A report by the Association of Chief Police Officers has stated that 103 youths were involved in hooliganism incidents last season, compared with just 38 during the 2007-08 season.

As of the end of August some 280 teenagers were banned from football grounds, making up nearly 10 per cent of the 3,059 fans who

The youngest fan to be banned was just 13 years old; the oldest, 71.

The report added that, despite the huge rise in youth violence, overall the growth in incidents has slowed, and is still far lower than the levels recorded in the 1970s and 1980s.

But ACPO's football policing chief Andy Holt warned that the youth figures are a serious long-term concern.

"If they're engaging in football-related disorder at an earlier age, then we're going to be stuck with that sort of behaviour potentially for some while," he said.

"Iit is something that we are acutely aware of. People are coming through and engaging in football disorder who perhaps weren't around in the heyday of football violence 15-20 years ago.

"So it is a worrying trend that the younger element are starting to pick up on this sort of behaviour."

The ACPO figures showed that 47 per cent of the 221 reported incidents of football disorder last season involved youths, compared with 51 per cent of the 182 incidents the previous season and 33 per cent of 114 incidents in 2007-08.