Football fans have clashed in a city centre this afternoon with a bus being attacked and damage caused amid ugly scenes.
Police have raced to the scene in Cardiff and one eyewitness warned locals to “stay away from town” as it is “full of riots”. Officers said they are “aware of some incidents of disorder” that have taken place in the city centre ahead of today’s Championship match between Cardiff City and Bristol City.
A video, seen by Wales Online, shows a large mob of fans clashing with police on foot and on horseback. The clip shows them swarming around the city centre at the junction of St Mary Street and Wood Street by the Prince of Wales pub. Missiles are also thrown at the pub and smash as police try to regain control.
A separate clip appears to show police trying to keep the large group of football supporters separate from what appear to be Cardiff fans outside the Prince of Wales pub. One witness said: “Football fans are hitting our bus as they go past, a masked one just booted the door of the bus that we are on. He’s cracked the glass. Bus driver has some sort of radio telling all buses to avoid town centre.”
Matt Thomas, who was on a bus to Pentyrch with his young son, described a “swarm” of football fans. He said: “I would say there were around 100 of them and police with truncheons were trying to guide them down Westgate Street. One of them hit the door and the glass smashed. We were quite shaken up.”
Cardiff City are hosting cross-border rivals Bristol City in the 104th Severnside Derby today, which kicked off at 12.30pm. A police spokesman said: “A policing operation is in place to ensure both sets of supporters can leave the stadium safely following the match.”