Two men banned from football matches for bringing in flares
The men have been given football banning orders after trying to get into Cheltenham Town's ground with flares.
Ashley McGowen, 20, from Chorley, Lancashire and Ryan Heathcote, 20, from Manchester have both been given three year football banning orders
The pair, who were travelling away fans, were found to be in possession of flares while trying to enter Cheltenham Town FC's ground for a match against Wigan Athletic FC on 11 November 2023.
They was found to have hidden the flares in their trousers.
As well as receiving the banning order the pair were each ordered to pay costs of £165 and a fine of £200.
Dedicated Football Officer PC Adrian Tuft said: “The use of pyrotechnics or even trying to get them into a football stadium is a criminal offence.
“Here at Gloucestershire Constabulary we will always take action against anyone who is using or found to be in possession of flares. This includes both inside or while attempting to enter a football stadium."
Chief Constable Mark Roberts, NPCC Lead for Football Policing, said: “Recently we have seen a concerning rise in the use of pyrotechnics at football matches across the country.
“In the past two seasons the number of incidents and arrests in the UK have more than doubled, and we have seen a number of near misses for fans due to the extremely dangerous nature of these devices.
“Cases such as this show that we are working collectively to clamp down on the issue, and action will be taken against fans who are caught trying to take pyrotechnics into stadiums."