Football fan banned from matches for three years after he was caught with cocaine in ground
A football fan caught taking cocaine into a Staffordshire football ground has been banned from all UK matches for three years.
Mitchell Lewis, aged 37, was caught with the Class A drug after he travelled to watch his team, Hereford, play Tamworth at The Lamb on an August Bank Holiday last year.
The Hereford man was searched by a steward as he entered Tamworth Football Club, on Kettlebrook Road.
Lewis was arrested on suspicion of possessing a controlled drug of Class A (cocaine) and was removed from the ground.
He admitted the charge and was given a three-year football banning order (FBO) at Cannock Magistrates’ Court on Friday January 12. He was also fined £300 and ordered to pay a £120 victim surcharge and £180 court costs.
The order means that Lewis must not attend any regulated football match in England and Wales.
He will also have to surrender his passport when England play away fixtures and is banned from attending any of the national team’s home fixtures.
Sergeant Neil Oldfield, from the Public Order, Protest and Football Policing Unit, said: “This result sends out a clear message to fans who engage in criminal activity at football fixtures in Staffordshire; your behaviour will not be tolerated and we will take robust action against you.
“The overwhelming majority of fans behave as they should, but we are aware a small minority will let themselves and their clubs down. As such, we will continue to pro-actively investigate all offences and send our dedicated football officers to the courts to ensure that FBOs are being secured against those who commit relevant offences.”
