Smoke bombs and rowdy behaviour among police incidents involving Ipswich and Colchester football fans across railway network

BTP officers and Police Community Support Officers. Picture: CONTRIBUTED (Image: Archant)

The latest figures, retrieved via a Freedom of Information request, suggest Colchester fans accounted for 3% of all League Two incidents across the entire BTP network, while Ipswich and Norwich fans accounted for 3% of all Championship incidents.

The reports include a smoke bomb, which was allegedly let off at a station after an Ipswich Town away game in August 2015.

Two months later a group of fans were reported to police for singing, swearing and drinking in the carriage near an elderly lady who had not attended the match.

In November of that year a drunk Colchester United fan was reported for banging on the windows of the train.

Other reports included a group of 20 Colchester fans on board a bus replacement service - who were said to have damaged the toilet leaving urine all over the floor.

Police were texted by a member of the public on board a train in April 2016 who alleged a group of 25 intoxicated Norwich fans were causing trouble.

On the same day a woman reported she had been abused by a group of Norwich City fans on a service.

She alleged one had approached her, dropped his trousers and made indecent remarks.

For the 2015-2016 season, West Ham had the most reported incidents of all Premier League clubs nationally.

The figures also reveal 22% of all football-related arrests are made by the British Transport Police.

Of these, 60% are for public disorder offences, and 40% were made during Premier League games.

There was also an increase of 36 incidents of violent disorder over the past year.

A British Transport Police spokesman said: “We adopt a proactive approach to football policing, with officers escorting trains before and after matches and patrolling stations where large numbers of fans are expected.”

Visit ticketgum.com to see the statistics in more detail.