ENGLAND’S World Cup matches will not be beamed live to a giant screen in Castle Park amid worries over anti-social behaviour.

Paul Smith, leader of Colchester Council, confirmed the cabinet had considered the possibility of screening matches on the park’s popular summer screen.

But he cited the unpredictable nature of the timings of England’s potential knockout matches and problems with “crowd control” as reasons to keep the huge event away from the big screen.

He made the comments at a meeting of Colchester Council’s Trading Board.

He said: “This was something which the cabinet looked at and we had discussions with ward councillors as well.

“There were various problems with screening the World Cup.

“The timings would be difficult for the residents.

“If we had a late night game the Castle ward councillors would find residents wouldn’t be happy if they had people coming out of there, particularly if they are elated at the wonderful performance of the England team, or sadly if they weren’t so elated.”

Mr Smith also highlighted the popularity of screening Wimbledon matches in the park and the potential clash with World Cup games.

He said: “There could be a problem where you might have a famous Scottish player in the final at Wimbledon and an England playing at the same time.

“There is also, I think, a feeling from a lot of the businesses in the town that many of the pubs have the England matches on their TV screens.

“If people were in Castle Park it might have a detrimental impact on their finances and then when the match finishes they’ll get a sudden rush of people.

“The main problem is we just didn’t know what time the English matches would kick off until the knockout draw is made.

“It could cause some issues with crowd control depending on the time of the matches.”

The giant screen has become a permanent feature in Colchester’s summer events calender.

Wimbledon matches, as well as popular films and even video game competitions, have been hosted.

Mr Smith previously confirmed the councillors had discussed the possibility of showing World Cup matches at another venue, but remains tight-lipped on the possible alternative.

The site under consideration is said to have “better facilities” than those on offer at Castle Park.

Castle Park played host to the hugely popular Oktoberfest last year, but residents complained about anti-social behaviour and excessive noise as people left the venue.

Thousands of people attended the festival, but a repeat of the event was deemed “highly unlikely” following the complaints.