THIRTEEN football fans were arrested yesterday as Burnley beat Port Vale in the FA Cup.

But frontline police have been praised for their ‘outstanding’ handling of ‘problematic’ fans.

Only one home fan was detained and 12 Port Vale supporters were hauled away in the Cricket Field stand, mainly for public drunkenness, police said.

Supporters of the Potteries club made up around a quarter of the 9,442 attendance at Turf Moor on Saturday.

Thirteen arrests were made in total before and after the game, which Burnley won 4-2.

Match commander Chief Inspector Jeff Brown, who was assisted by colleagues from Staffordshire Police, was pleased with how the match was handled.

Mr Brown said: “The standard of policing achieved by my officers on the day was outstanding, in dealing with a lot of problematic fans.

“Port Vale brought 2,500 quite vociferous fans. The vast majority of those were well-behaved but we did have significant problems with drinking and we had to control those individuals.”

Following the game more than 40 coaches and mini-buses containing Vale fans were escorted along Harry Potts Way and Belvedere Road.

Several home supporters’ cars were delayed, in the Ormerod Road area, while the away support was all-owed to leave.

Police dog handlers were deployed to maintain order outside Turf Moor and the force helicopter remained on standby throughout the tie.

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