POLICE were out in force as they took the threat to public health from an influx of rival Scottish football fans heading south of the border seriously.

Prior to the Old Firm derby between fierce Glasgow rivals Celtic and Rangers taken place early on Saturday afternoon, there were strong rumours that hundreds of fans from both sets of clubs would descend on Carlisle city centre to watch the match in pubs due to hospitality venues north of the border being closed due to the country’s high Covid-19 risk.

While Cumbria Police said only around 100 fans arrived in the city, and all of whom were in small groups, the constabulary was prepared for the worst and insisted a large police presence, which included riot vans and police dog handlers, was needed to protect the public from a pubic health threat.

The droves of fans didn’t exactly materialise and, while two arrests were made, police have thanked football fans for listening to warnings about travelling to watch the match.

Officers from Cumbria Constabulary also offered a special thanks to licensed premises which all worked with the police to help protect the public.

Superintendent Matt Kennerly said: “We have had more than 100 fans cross into Carlisle and we have been really responsive. We’ve not had the large numbers we expected which shows the work we have put into getting the message out has worked.

“Licensees have done an outstanding job.”

He added: “Intelligence earlier in the week suggested that a large number of fans were thinking of making the journey to Cumbria from Scotland.

“Ahead of Saturday we engaged with coach companies and licensees around the current guidance and to think about their responsibilities, and the restrictions in place.

“We had officers out in Carlisle engaging with licensees as well as fans through out the day and fortunately, no licences were in breach of regulations and we haven’t had to issues any fines.”

During the day, officers were out in Carlisle conducting checks on local licensed premises as well as engaging with fans. Two arrests were made at about 4.45pm at the railway station. One man was arrested for being drunk and disorderly and a second man was arrested for drunk and disorderly and possession of a controlled drug. Both men were from Scotland and remain in police custody.

A spokesperson for the Griffin pub said: “We are grateful to the travelling fans for their respectful behaviour yesterday and we would also like to express our thanks to the emergency services for their support in ensuring that the afternoon was a positive experience for all.”