Uxbridge prepares for cup final

7:06am Wednesday 14th May 2008

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POLICE are bracing themselves for hundreds of football fans flooding into Uxbridge town centre this weekend.

The high street is expected to be packed with supporters at lunchtime on their way to the Portsmouth vs Cardiff City FA Cup final clash at Wembley.

There will be a large police presence to try to prevent violent clashes between rival fans, with several coach loads expected from both teams.

Inspector Andy Blackburn, who is in charge of policing on Saturday in Uxbridge, said: "We are going to be set up to deal with large numbers of football fans, and we hope they come here and enjoy themselves.

"Football fans like to have a drink to celebrate, and we hope they do have a good time in Uxbridge, trouble free."

The town, at the end of the Metropolitan tube line, is a favoured drop off point for fans entering London on their way to Wembley.

Officers have been meeting with business owners around the town centre, advising them how to avoid trouble from fans.

Pubs are not opening before 11am, are serving all drinks in plastic glasses, and will try to limit the number of people admitted to their establishments.

Some pubs have said they are not opening at certain times, will only be admitting regular customers, or are banning anyone wearing football colours from coming inside.

Supermarkets have been advised to remove bottles of alcohol from the shelves to prevent fans buying them and taking them into pubs.

Inspector Blackburn said the police have officers all along the tube line to Wembley, and have had a number of meetings with local businesses to make sure they are well prepared.

Brian Gallagher, landlord of The Three Tuns, in High Street, Uxbridge, said despite the reputation of the Cardiff fans for causing trouble, the semi-final last month passed with only a small number of incidents in Uxbridge.

He does not think there will be too much trouble on Saturday.

He said: "We are not going to deal with it in any other way than we usually do.

"Before Wembley was closed, we always had semi-finals and there was never much of an issue with it.

"I hope everything is going to go ahead without any problems."

The FA Cup final kicks off at 3pm.