Trouble flared when Walsall took on Sheffield Wednesday yesterday, as the biggest crowd this season descended on the Banks’s Stadium.

Away supporters were seen running onto the pitch when their team took the lead after 59 minutes and had to be escorted from the ground by police.

But play was halted seconds later when trouble flared between Walsall and Wednesday fans at the corner of the Five Rivers stand. Eyewitnesses reported seeing punches thrown amid the scuffles.

But there were more problems after the Division One match, which Walsall won following two injury time goals. More trouble was spotted at the nearby retail park off Bescot Crescent.

Saddlers fan Diane Davies, aged 41, of Hednesford, was at the game and saw the troubles first hand. “A couple of their fans went on to the pitch after the game but as they didn’t score again and were beaten they didn’t get the chance to do that again,” she said.

“Home fans were shepherded the long way round to their car park so they would not encounter Wednesday fans at the end of the game. But gangs of Wednesday fans went to the next-door retail park after the game. I saw fans fighting each other through the lines of cars caught up in the jams to leave.

“They were shouting out looking for a fight and seem to have damaged at least one car. There was a group of young lads in it and the driver’s door appeared to have been kicked in. Police came to the retail park and stopped any more scuffles but I did see a police van with the lights going heading to the ground so I don’t know if there was more trouble there.”

More than 8,000 fans were at the Banks’s Stadium yesterday for the Boxing Day clash. It was the highest gate for some seasons, with average attendances at the ground around 3,700.