Football fans' derby day behaviour praised

Football fans have been praised for their good behaviour in Lincoln during derby day.

Lincoln City and Grimsby Town played out a tepid 0-0 draw in front of 4,981 supporters at Sincil Bank, with 1,252 Mariners fans making the trip south for the game.

The two Lincolnshire clubs have a long history of trouble between supporters and a large police presence was out in the city's streets on Saturday to reduce the risk of any problems.

It is believed 140 officers were on duty with several carrying out searches on visiting fans that arrived at Lincoln Central train station while vans and cars could be seen patrolling the streets near the ground.

Pairs of officers were also stationed along the High Street while some visited pubs and spoke to fans as part of their match day work.

Following the extensive operation, Lincolnshire Police said there was just one arrest with a man taken away by officers at Lincoln Central Station, although this was connected to a football incident in August.

Deputy football intelligence officer PC Karl Williams told the Echo: "The day went pretty much fine from a police perspective. There was no disorder and no issues."

Lincoln City chairman Steff Wright said a lot of hard work had been carried out by club staff, the police and fans to create a better feeling at games with Grimsby Town.

For more on Saturday's crunch League Two derby clash, including match reaction, see today's Lincolnshire Echo.