Row over £10k police bill for Wolves match settled

A contentious £10,000 police bill for a Wolves game which saw trouble flare and officers criticised for their response has finally been settled by the rival club.

Police made 34 arrests before, during and after the away game at Port Vale.

The Staffordshire side delayed forking out for the costs of policing the match, citing the fact that trouble mostly took place away from the club's Vale Park ground.

Club bosses also questioned why Staffordshire Police had raised the security rating of the game.

The original bill was around £20,500, but this was then almost halved to £10,900.

Wolves won the match 3-1 last August but 13 of their fans – and 21 Port Vale supporters – were arrested.

Police chiefs later highlighted a catalogue of errors made on the day.

Police criticised over handling of violence at Wolves match

Staffordshire Police and Crime Commissioner Matthew Ellis confirmed Port Vale have paid the agreed outstanding amount owed to the force.

And he said lessons must be learned from the saga, saying it must not happen again.

"This has been a difficult situation, at the heart of which has been managing the responsibility of recovering public money, being pragmatic with Port Vale and the impact the club's difficulties has had with the local community," he said.

"Clearly this situation mustn't be allowed to happen in the future and talks will now start with the police and the club with regard to meeting the cost of policing games from this point on.

"I have already asked the Chief Constable to update procedures around the way contractual and financial arrangements for policing football matches are made.

"In future there is to be greater rigour around the pre and post match engagement with football clubs and also in relation to the financial contract arrangements."

Trouble broke out around Vale Park with some supporters running onto the pitch and others setting off flares in the stands.

Seven complaints were made about dog bites, while two further general complaints about the police operation were also investigation. Around 4,000 Wolves fans descended on the town, although there was only room for 1,000 of them in pubs around the ground.

The game was classed as a category C fixture, meaning it was at 'high risk' of disorder. All six arrests made during the game were of Wolves fans.

An operation debrief said there was no medical assistance available for fans when violence flared. It also highlighted that transport officers were not even aware of Wolves fans approaching Burslem Railway Station after the match and that officers left police cars which blocked exit routes abandoned after taking it upon themselves to join colleagues elsewhere.