Banning orders for football fans who took flares to Nottingham Forest youth club final

Two football fans have been given three-year bans from attending football matches after taking flares into a match. During the FA Youth Cup final between Manchester United and Nottingham Forest at Old Trafford on May 11, which United won 3-1, Andrew Chambers and Bradley Lilliman set off smoke bombs.

Both were later charged with possession of a flare at a sporting event. Chambers, 55, and Lilliman, 18, both pleaded guilty to the charge and were given the banning orders at Manchester Magistrates' Court on Tuesday (June 28).

Chambers, of Shirland Drive, Mansfield, was ordered to pay costs of £107 and Lilliman, of Victoria Street, Newark, was also ordered to pay a surcharge of £22. Nottinghamshire Police are warning about the consequences of taking pyrotechnics into football stadiums.

Inspector Craig Berry, of Nottinghamshire Police's football unit, said: "A new European-inspired culture appears to be emerging within football supporters across the country, where setting off of pyrotechnics inside football grounds is seen as acceptable and normal. While most will not have any ulterior motives other than the belief they are creating or contributing to the atmosphere inside the ground, it is important that people realise that letting off these devices inside stadiums is illegal for a reason.

"Smoke bombs can be dangerous, both for those who are carrying them and those in the close vicinity when they're activated. As these supporters have found out to their cost, smuggling these items into grounds is a criminal offence that can lead to a football banning order of up to five years. The message is clear: such devices are dangerous and are not welcome within football stadiums."

Alan Bexon, head of operations at Nottingham Forest,