An extra 30 police officers are being drafted in for next weekend's Heybridge v Bristol City match.

The Bristol City fans were third in the Home Office's football-related arrests table for Division Two last season with 44 arrests - more than half at away games.

They will be travelling to the Swifts on November 16 for an FA Cup First Round tie.

But despite some concerns about trouble occurring and the suitability of the 3,700-capacity Scraley Road ground, the general feeling of police, residents and business is that the match is a great boost for the town.

Insp Kevin Jacobs of Maldon Police, said there would probably be around an extra 30 officers, including special constables and officers with dogs in and around the ground.

He said: "There have been problems when Bristol City have played locally, but there have been no major issues in relation to problems when they have played in this part of the county."

Bristol City are playing at Colchester United tomorrow in a league game this weekend, and Insp Jacobs said they would be looking at how well this game ran, and if there was any trouble, to see if they needed to change any of their tactics.

"We are probably looking at about 450 Bristol City fans coming down for the match, and most of them will members of the supporters club. We will have a sensible number of officers inside the ground," he added.

"FA cup matches are generally played in fairly good spirits and are family occasions. On the whole this is a good thing for the town and will bring some sparkle to Maldon and Heybridge," added Insp Jacobs.

Published Friday November 8, 2002

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