Teen football thugs in mass brawl as match washed out

RIVAL football fans as young as 14 were involved in violent clashes outside a busy leisure complex in mid-afternoon in the city centre.

Eyewitnesses said at least 15 people were involved in a mass brawl outside the Omni Centre at around 3pm on Saturday after a friendly match between Hibs and Barnsley at Easter Road was cancelled due to a waterlogged pitch.

More than 50 shoppers witnessed the brawl, which involved several glass bottles - and punches - being thrown.

The fight started in the street outside Lloyds No.1 Playfair bar and spilled over into its beer garden, before police arrived to separate the groups.

The metal barrier outside the pub was damaged.

One man suffered a cut lip but did not attend hospital, and Lothian and Borders Police confirmed that seven arrests had been made.

One eyewitness, who was having lunch at Slug & Lettuce in the Omni Centre at the time, described the scene.

The 27-year-old, who asked not to be named, said: "A bunch of guys who were walking past Lloyds started to run towards another group outside the beer garden, and started hitting a group of three or four guys to begin with, and then the fight moved along to right outside Lloyds bar.

"They were all different age groups, with the youngest being around 14 or 15 and the oldest in their late 30s. It just all of a sudden kicked off and there was some chanting during it.

"There were two or three of them walking round with bottles of Buckfast and at one point a guy charged towards the group with the bottle. People watching outside the Omni Centre were shocked and pretty scared. I thought it had something to do with the Hibs match."

He added: "The first part of the fight was very violent with punches being thrown. There were smashed bottles.

"Around five or six police cars arrived after five minutes and managed to defuse it in about half an hour.

"It was pretty surreal. Initially there was panic and people rushing away from it."

Another eyewitness, who works in the area and didn't want to be named, added: "All hell broke loose. Some Hibs hooligans went past and started fighting with four or five English guys who were outside the beer garden, and it spilled into the beer garden area.

"It happened right at 3pm after the game got cancelled - they must have been looking for a fight."

A spokesman for Lothian and Borders Police said the disturbance was believed to have been football related and seven men were arrested for allegedly breaching the peace.

He added that football banning orders would be considered for anyone convicted.

No-one from Hibs was available for comment this morning.