Dispersal order issued after hundreds gather at Bestwood football event

Officers issued a dispersal order in an area of Bestwood following a large gathering of young people attending a football match at Southglade Leisure Centre.
The incident happened just before 6 pm on Wednesday 8 April.

Hundreds of young people were at the event, and officers received reports of a fight breaking out and possible criminal damage.

On attendance, there were no injured parties and no weapons recovered.

A dispersal order was issued, which means that none of those identified can return to the area for 48 hours or will face arrest.

Officers are carrying out extensive CCTV enquiries and will be visiting the leisure centre today to determine if any offences have been committed.

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Neighbourhood Inspector Paul Fergeson said:

“We received a number of reports from concerned residents last night about a large gathering of young people.

“There were also concerns that a fight had broken out between the group. I want to reassure the community that we were in attendance and issued a dispersal order to ensure that the group was dispersed and to ensure nothing escalated.

“There has been some speculation on social media about knives being used. At this stage, we have no evidence that this was the case.

“However, we will be carrying out a thorough investigation at the site today to build a greater intelligence picture about the event and whether any criminal offences have been committed. If they have, then the public can expect robust action.”

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