Yobs arrested in swoop on passports

Three football hooligans from the Black Country have been arrested for failing to hand in their passports ahead of the World Cup.

They were among five men aged between 20 and 44 who were held following co-ordinated 5am raids across the West Midlands yesterday.

Around 25 officers swooped on homes around the region, led by officers from West Midlands Police's football banning orders unit.

The five men were arrested in the Low Hill and Fallings Park areas of Wolverhampton, as well as Wednesbury, Witton and Erdington.

All were charged with breaching football banning orders, which had been imposed for earlier hooliganism, and will appear before Birmingham Magistrates next Wednesday. The orders required the men to hand in their passports ahead of England's game with Japan at the end of last month, which they failed to do.

Police said further arrests were expected in the next few days meaning some fans will miss seeing England's opening game in the tournament with America on Saturday night.

Pc Dave Mapp, from the football banning orders team, said: "We have another 10 or so on our imminent list of doors to knock, so if we get to them on Saturday they risk spending the evening in a cell and missing the game."

Currently 314 people are the subject of banning orders in the West Midlands, and 90 per cent of them handed in their passports.

The maximum sentence for breaching a banning order is six months jail or a £5,000 fine.

Pc Mapp said: "We are all gearing up for what promises to be an exciting World Cup and want fans to have a great time with a couple of drinks and enjoy watching their team play. Lots of police are England fans too and will be as disappointed as everyone else if things don't go our way, but a banning order will be a long lasting reminder of a moment of madness."

Supporters hit with the orders could also face bans lasting years preventing them from going to games.