West Ham and Millwall fans fight 'like animals'

A 44-year-old man was stabbed in the chest and more than 21 others injured as West Ham and Millwall fans fought running battles last night.

Scotland Yard described the large scale confrontations as "pre-planned and organised".

About 200 riot police and 20 mounted officers were pelted with missiles. Onlookers said terrified children were caught up in the violence as bricks and bottles were thrown into the crowds.

Police said a total of 13 people were arrested and pledged to track down other offenders using CCTV footage of the incidents.

More than 750 officers struggled to contain the trouble as fans broke through cordons and barriers meant to keep them apart.

Inside Upton Park, fans fought with police and stewards and the Carling Cup tie was suspended for a while when supporters invaded the pitch and taunted players and rival fans.

Minister for Sport Gerry Sutcliffe described the scenes as a "disgrace to football" and there were calls for the FA to take the "strongest action" against the clubs. Any supporters found guilty of public order offences could be banned from football games for life.

Evidence emerged today that thugs had planned the violence on internet chatrooms. One message said: "Make sure you bring your bats and don't bring your kids." A Scotland Yard spokeswoman said officers are now scanning CCTV footage to identify those behind the clashes. She said: "We will be reviewing all the events, looking at CCTV inside and outside the ground to identify offences and offenders."

The Football Association said it would work closely with the police to ensure the culprits were banned for life. Police had been on high alert to expect trouble as the bitter rivals played for the first time in more than five years in last night's Carling Cup tie.

There were reports that trouble first broke out when Millwall supporters broke through a police cordon outside Upton Park Underground station.

Shocking pictures: Violence mars cup match

Lines of officers struggled to keep the two groups apart but then a crowd of West Ham supporters surged forward as an estimated 2,000 visiting fans were escorted to the stadium.

Many fans could be seen with blood dripping down their faces following scuffles which continued on and off until midnight.

Police had rated the match Category Five, the most serious risk of violence. Scores of officers equipped with riot gear from the Territorial Support Group were called in as reinforcements as fighting escalated.

Today witnesses described it as a war zone, as the two groups of fans were "going at each other like wild animals."

Fighting, which lasted more than six hours, started shortly after 6pm outside the ground. An hour later those scuffles had turned into full-scale running battles between hundreds of fans, many of whom did not have tickets but had come looking for a fight. Hooligans grabbed any weapon they could get their hands on including bricks, bottles and glasses.

Several had come armed with knives; one 44-year-old man — described as an apparently innocent-looking supporter on fans' websites — was stabbed in the chest in Priory Road at some time around 8pm while another appears to have been slashed across the neck.

West Ham fans force their way on the pitch during the game

Ben Newton, from Harrow, said his father had been stretchered away after being hit on the head by a dart. Inside the ground, West Ham fans twice invaded the pitch, taunting Millwall players and forcing the referee to suspend play. After the final whistle the fighting continued outside the ground.

The trouble first flared as Millwall fans apparently intent on violence emerged from Upton Park Tube for the half-mile walk down Green Street to the East End ground. They were met by West Ham supporters lying in wait. Riot police, who were well-aware of and well-briefed on the likelihood of trouble, struggled to keep them apart. Later Tube trains were not stopping at the station although that did not prevent hooligans trying to kick their way out of carriages there.

"All hell broke loose when they [West Ham fans] saw the Millwall fans come out of the station," said Hamzah Safbar, 19, who works in the Al-Farooq kebab shop in Green Street. "They were chucking bricks, bottles, cans of beer, rubbish bins, whatever they could get their hands on. It was terrifying.

"Some were fighting the police, who were beating them back with batons, and I saw one officer on the ground getting kicked."

Walking wounded, blood pouring from their injuries, staggered through the streets. Witnesses spoke of one man with a bleeding neck wound, overheard telling paramedics: "They've shanked [stabbed] me."

Gary Lucas, 43, whose family has run Ken's Cafe in Green Street since 1966, said: "It was really nasty, absolutely terrible. I've not seen anything like it since the bad old days of the mid-Eighties. They were walking along with bottles in their hands looking for supporters from the other team so they could attack them. I saw two lads on the floor with 40 to 50 people all laying into them.

"Lots of them turned up just to fight and the police know who they are. West Ham and Millwall should never have been allowed to play each other. This thing goes back generations."

A Millwall fan, who asked not to be named, said: "It was like a war zone. There was fighting all round. I brought my kids with me tonight and they've seen violence that is indescribable."

There were more clashes as fans made their way home and police used batons to repel a charge near the station.

Ambulance crews and police were called to the stabbing in Priory Road just after 8pm. At about 10.45pm the ambulance service also dealt with a man with head injuries in Redcliffe Street.

At around the same time police were called to a pub in Green Street to reports of an assault. A man was taken to hospital but his condition is not serious.

Shocking pictures: Violence mars cup match