Three football hooligans who carried out an 'unprovoked, violent' attack on opposition supporters at a pub have been handed football banning orders.
Bolton Wanderers fans Dylan Needham, Callum Seddon and Joshua Stodart were part of a group of thugs who set upon Wigan Athletic fans before a match last year.
The two rival clubs went head-to-head in the Sky Bet Championship on December 1, 2018. The match ended 1-1.
Ahead of the fixture at the University of Bolton Stadium, the group entered the Bee Hive pub in Chorley New Road, Horwich, intent on causing trouble.
The pub, which is dedicated to away supporters on matchdays, was filled with Wigan supporters at the time.
Outside, the group attacked a number of Latics fans before the violence spilled inside, where more away supporters were assaulted.
When police arrived at the pub soon after, Needham, Seddon and Stodart and the rest of the group fled.
But officers eventually caught up with them and handed out dispersal notices ordering them to leave the area.
The trio were summoned to Bolton Combined Courts last week, where they were handed football banning orders last week.
Needham, 17, of Catherine’s Court, Richmond Street, Horwich, Bolton , and Stodart, 21, of Varley Road, Bolton received three-year bans, while Seddon, 29, of Norbreck Close, Warrington, was banned for four years.
Police Constable Matt Ford, of the Specialist Operations Planning Unit, said: “This was an unprovoked violent incident which would have been extremely frightening for anyone who was in the pub at the time.
“Thanks to the quick response of officers, the disorder was quickly brought to an end.
“The majority of supporters were extremely well behaved before, during and after the game, but, unfortunately, there can sometimes be a minority intent on causing trouble.
"These banning orders should send out a message to any supporters that are considering committing offences on a matchday.”
