Football thugs seized at Heathrow as security is stepped up

A football thug with a conviction for manslaughter and assault has been seized by police at Heathrow after trying to fly to South Africa.

The man was seized as he tried to board a plane and was prevented from flying by specialist football intelligence officers.

He has since appeared in court and been given a three-year football banning order. Two other men have also been prevented from flying from Heathrow, one of them with a string of violent offences.

The suspect with the manslaughter conviction was held with another man on Tuesday. A third man was arrested yesterday.

He was detained under a prevention order and must be presented to a court within 24 hours.

Meanwhile hundreds of England supporters continued to fly out today - ahead of Saturday's opening group game against America - amid tightened security at London's airports.

The operation is part of a crackdown on 320 football hooligans from the capital who have been ordered to hand in their passports during the tournament. So far, only 25 have failed to surrender them.

Police carried out early morning raids on addresses across London and the Midlands and arrested 11 people. Eight have been charged for breaching their banning order.

Commander Bob Broadhurst, in charge of the Met's anti-hooligan operation, said: "We're here to stop the violent element getting out to South Africa."