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Your Worcester News is an offensive weapon, footy fan told

A WEST Ham United fan was stopped from taking his copy of the Worcester News into a Premier League football ground after guards branded it an offensive weapon.

POWER OF THE PRESS: West Ham United fan Chris Barmby had his newspaper confiscated at Stoke City’s Britannia Stadium turnstiles. 1013261005 POWER OF THE PRESS: West Ham United fan Chris Barmby had his newspaper confiscated at Stoke City’s Britannia Stadium turnstiles. 1013261005

Security guards at Stoke City Football Club confiscated the newspaper belonging to Chris Barmby, of Claines, in case he set it alight. Two guards stopped the 57-year-old retired firefighter saying he could not take it through the gates into the Britannia Stadium as it was the club’s new policy to ban newspapers to stop people using them as a torch.

Lifelong football fan Mr Barmby said: “It was absolutely ridiculous, what is stopping someone setting light to a club programme?

“I’ve been following football for years and years and go to a lot of home games and as many away games as I can and I have never heard anything so ridiculous.

“The worst thing was I hadn’t even read it.”

Mr Barmby travels to games with a group of West Ham fans from Worcester and is well known for carrying a copy of your Worcester News with him.

“I always take a copy with me to read on the train but we end up having a bit of banter and I stick it in my back pocket to read later.

“I told them I hadn’t read it but they said to stick it behind the fence and pick it up on the way back. I left the grounds out of another gate so I didn’t even get it back.”

Football hooligans in the 1960s and 1970s would allegedly roll up newspapers into a cosh-style weapon known as a Milwall brick.

Bryan Shaw, chairman of Stoke City Supporters Club, said it was the first time he had heard of someone having a newspaper taken from them at the grounds.

“I can’t contradict what they have said and I haven’t seen the new guidelines but it is unusual.

“The only thing I can think of is that there has been tension between the fans during the last couple of visits with West Ham fans trying to get to the other supporters.”

Stoke City Football Club did not respond to numerous requests for a comment. On the club’s website the list of banned items does not include newspapers.

However, it does state that any article that might be used as a weapon and/or compromise public safety would not be allowed into the grounds.


Comments (21)

07/03/13

mr.meldrew says...

i had to check the date,make sure it wasnt april 1st...the world has gone totally bonkers..

07/03/13

Guy66 says...

If you roll a newspaper tightly it can be used effectively as a weapon. Paper is quite formidable when used in certain ways......

07/03/13

Guy66 says...

Just to add... It only goes to show that football grounds still don't trust their own fans and the expectation that items will be utilized as weapons must still be at forefront of the clubs security policies....

Try Rugby far more civilized!

07/03/13

outside-edge says...

Guy66 wrote:
If you roll a newspaper tightly it can be used effectively as a weapon. Paper is quite formidable when used in certain ways......
The pen is obviously mightier than the sword.

07/03/13

imustbeoldiwearacap says...

Guy66 wrote:
Just to add... It only goes to show that football grounds still don't trust their own fans and the expectation that items will be utilized as weapons must still be at forefront of the clubs security policies....

Try Rugby far more civilized!
An oxymoron?

07/03/13

CJH says...

Well some of the comments you read in here are certainly offensive...

07/03/13

scolesy says...

Guy66 wrote:
If you roll a newspaper tightly it can be used effectively as a weapon. Paper is quite formidable when used in certain ways......
Yet the will sell you a match program for a tenner!!!

07/03/13

brooksider says...

I like the fact that Stoke City have 'Guards'.

I wonder if they are Coldstream or Grenadier?

07/03/13

Guy66 says...

scolesy wrote:
Guy66 wrote:
If you roll a newspaper tightly it can be used effectively as a weapon. Paper is quite formidable when used in certain ways......
Yet the will sell you a match program for a tenner!!!
smaller less offensive and rubbish content!

07/03/13

stu2010 says...

You should see some of the paper cuts I've had, worse than a knife

07/03/13

Doogie 46 says...

They`d have to have a lot of WN`s to make a Millwall Brick - it`s so thin these days (unless it was a Thursday with the property supplement)And it wouldn`t burn for very long!!!

07/03/13

Raymond Delauney says...

"Lifelong football fan".

Brilliant.

07/03/13

charlie the cat says...

Has the world gone totally made a news paper lets hope Stoke City continue with this proceedure by stopping the sale of match day programmes, probably not as it will effect there income, motto to this story is buy your WN on match days from Stoke City F.C on matchdays.

07/03/13

Jim F says...

Who is the worse. Me for writing this or this fella from Claines for bothering to report this to WN.

08/03/13

Jabbadad says...

Rolled newspaper a weapon, get real the only time it could be seen or used as a weapon was if it were wrapped around an iron bar or house brick.
However rolled newspaper is a good deterrent for your would be naughty dog, when we had Alsatians just the noise of a rolled newspaper slapping sent them, scooting away. No pain just the noise.
So perhaps this would affect the footy fans as well ha ha.

08/03/13

TDH123 says...

I made an origami axe once . . and suffered a paper-cut on an envelope . .

08/03/13

topjock1972 says...

more like the guard had read the wn before and told him " you ain't bringing that chickenless rubbish in here"

08/03/13

iamthebinman says...

Doogie 46 wrote:
They`d have to have a lot of WN`s to make a Millwall Brick - it`s so thin these days (unless it was a Thursday with the property supplement)And it wouldn`t burn for very long!!!
Millwall Brick! Wasn't that Harry the Dog and the F-Troop steaming in the Kop End of the Victoria Ground rather than some old geezer with his local rag! Security at football have no idea how lucky they are these days!

08/03/13

Respectable says...

Maybe it was the potential for the pictures of Glum faced victims of modern life, to turn the whole crowd suicidal ;-)

09/03/13

worcester shelf side says...

remember the inter city firm, they were the top boys for a while, this bloke is of that vintage.
a millwall brick if folded right can break a house brick, a long thin news paper is just right for rolling one in either of its forms.

11/03/13

pinkfluff says...

Jabbadad wrote:
Rolled newspaper a weapon, get real the only time it could be seen or used as a weapon was if it were wrapped around an iron bar or house brick.
However rolled newspaper is a good deterrent for your would be naughty dog, when we had Alsatians just the noise of a rolled newspaper slapping sent them, scooting away. No pain just the noise.
So perhaps this would affect the footy fans as well ha ha.
Rolled up newspaper can easily be used as an effective weapon, could cause death even.

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