HOOLIGANS at Wembley have caused neighbours to fear for their safety so badly that one woman is considering leaving the borough.
Francisca Fernandes, 56, of Wembley Hill Road, has lived in Wembley for more than 40 years and says that she has never witnessed such ‘horrific’ behaviour in the time she has lived here.
Fans of Millwall, Wigan, Manchester City and Chelsea FC were arrested following disturbances after matches played at Wembley Stadium on Saturday and Sunday.
The mother-of-two said: “When we came back it was chaos everywhere. We couldn’t get into our own house. There were hundreds of these Manchester City fans in our garden, on our street.
“My husband uses a walking stick and he got stuck, but I managed to squeeze through and get into my house. Because my husband was left on his own, some man went up to him and pulled his trousers down in front of his face – it was just horrific.”
She said the football fans were swearing, chanting, and urinating in the street and vandalised their home.
Mrs Fernandes said: “They broke one of my double glazed windows which we have only recently had put in, they stomped on my flowers and rose bushes, it’s all ruined. In all the 40 years I have lived in Wembley I have never had to experience such horrible antics. I really am considering moving out of Wembley because of it.”
Councillor Lincoln Beswick, lead member for crime and public safety, said: “It is a concern for the people who live there and the families in the area. We don’t want this to get worse and reflect badly on Brent.”
One Millwall fan, who was near where the trouble began and did not want to be named, said the disorder started 10 minutes after half time.
He said: “There were a lot of people with young children or elderly relatives who were worried about what was happening. After we got out of the stadium there was no trouble as far as I could see.”
The Green Man pub, in Dagmar Avenue, did not open after the game but an employee said there had been no trouble with Millwall fans beforehand. Andrea Silester, a bar tender at the Torch Pub, Bridge Road, said there was only one fight, which was resolved peacefully.
Police arrested 14 people on Saturday and 16 on Sunday, and one has been arrested subsequently. Four police officers received minor injuries.
In addition, British Transport Police officers arrested six Millwall supporters at Wembley Park station, while four Manchester City supporters and four Chelsea fans were arrested at Wembley Park, Wembley Central and Euston stations. Two men have since been charged, one for breach of bail conditions and the other for racially aggravated behaviour.
Alex Horne, general secretary of The FA, said: “The FA and Wembley Stadium will work with police and representatives of Millwall FC to review all events. We will look to ensure those involved are identified and we would call for criminal charges and a football banning order to be brought against them.”
