JUST four Colchester United fans were slapped with a banning order last season, despite football-related disorder remaining at “concerning levels”.

The figures are included in a new report recently published by the Home Office, which shows the worrying number of cowardly hooligans being prevented from attending matches.

As of the start of this season a staggering 1,771 football banning orders had been issued, stopping troublemakers from enjoying their beloved game for anywhere between three to 10 years.

The bans were a result of incidents which occurred at both club and international fixtures across England and Wales in 2018-2019, including racist hate crimes, which had increased on the previous season.

Police bosses are worried about the consistent trend of violence at football matches, and say lower leagues, such as the one in which Colchester United plays, are more likely to be affected.

Deputy Chief Constable Mark Roberts, the National Police Chiefs' Council lead for football policing, said: “Football disorder remains at concerning levels – worryingly, this is becoming the new normality.

“Interestingly, higher levels of disorder are being seen in the lower leagues, and this could be attributed to the fact there is often a reduced police presence.

“With the absence of police officers to witness and respond, we are reliant on supporters and other agencies to report matters to us, so there could be a lot that goes unreported.”

However, supporters of Colchester United, which recently saw off Premier League titans Tottenham Hotspur to progress to the fourth round of the Carabao Cup, seem to be predominantly well-behaved in the grand scheme of things.

Last season, for example, only four nuisance followers of the League 2 side received banning orders, while just two of the 1,381 football-related arrests included United fans.

Colchester United's general manager Tim Waddington, however, believes such as numbers are still not good enough.

He said: “With over 80,000 tickets sold to Colchester United supporters for home and away matches during the season, four banning orders and two arrests are relatively low numbers - but are still four and two too many.

"We have worked hard, and will continue to work hard, with our stewards and the relevant authorities to make football matches here at the JobServe Community Stadium and across the country safe for all attendees.

"We are a family club, with supporters of all ages, and want their matchday experience to be a pleasant one.

"Preventing the people who jeopardise that from entering football stadia is a measure that we, and I’m sure other clubs, will continue to take.”