Football match halted after fight in crowd

A non-league football match between Lancaster City and Macclesfield FC was brought to a halt after fans started fighting inside the ground, a club has said.

The Northern Premier League game at City's Giant Axe ground was stopped while stewards and officials tried to restore order at 15:30 GMT on Saturday, thirty minutes after the game kicked off.

Videos on social media showed rival fans fighting and a bin apparently being thrown as Macclesfield's head coach Robbie Savage pleaded for calm in a stand behind a goal.

In a statement, the home team said it condemned "the actions from supporters of both sides" after the "game was stopped for a period of time due to disorder in the first half".

Lancashire Police said it was called to reports of groups of fans fighting inside the stadium but no arrests were made.

A police spokeswoman said: "After we attended, the match resumed and at the conclusion of the full time whistle both sets of fans left the ground, largely without incident."

It added that "regrettably the police had to be called and there was the potential of the game being abandoned".

Macclesfield later won the game 3-1 to remain clear at the top of the table.

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