Thugs under surveillance in run-up to Euro 2004

MORE THAN 400 suspected football hooligans are being kept under 24- hour surveillance as part of a police operation designed to safeguard England's entry into Euro 2004, it emerged today.

The thugs, identified by intelligence officers, were targeted after hundreds of CCTV images showed them taking part in running street battles at home and away.

Police now hope to ban them from travelling to Portugal next year by gathering fresh evidence to present to the courts.

A large part of the extra 5 million allocated by the Home Office to combat footballrelated violence will be spent on recruiting informants in a bid to trap those suspected of orchestrating trouble.

The money has already been used to deploy an extra 50 police officers trained in covert surveillance. A large number of officers will be used to stop well-known hooligans trying to get to Turkey for England's final qualifier.

Sven-Goran Eriksson and David Beckham have appealed to fans to behave themselves after England were warned they face expulsion.

The warnings from UEFA and FIFA followed battles on in Liechtenstein and Switzerland in March. The National Criminal Intelligence Service last week published 10 images of suspected thugs recorded by CCTV during the scuffles.

Home Office figures this week revealed a 19 per cent rise in football- related offences in the past season.

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