IT’S difficult to know what more could have been done to avert trouble at yesterday’s derby match between Swindon Town and Oxford United at the County Ground.

Kick off time had been moved to noon on a Sunday, which would make it difficult for potential troublemakers to fuel themselves on booze ahead of the game.

And extra police had been drafted in to keep fans of both teams apart.

In the recent past these measures have been adopted with some degree of success, with groups of fans being aggressive and threatening violence, but with very little actually being committed.

But for some reason yesterday was different.

Our reporter who covered the arrival of Oxford fans outside the ground could have been describing a scene in central Aleppo, rather than the area near the Magic Roundabout: “Fans charged at each other across the open grass outside the County Ground before the game with police seemingly unable to keep the two sides apart.

"Flares were launched through the air and bottles thrown, with some striking police officers’ helmets as they fought to restore order.”

It doesn’t help that this is a built-up, residential area close to Swindon Town centre - it must have been terrifying for local people, in their homes, to witness.

It should be stressed that this type violence at our local football ground is rare - most matches pass off peaceably and the club and the police work hard to ensure that is always the case.

But the intense rivalry between the Swindon and Oxford football clubs always threatens to boil over - on this occasion it did.  Hopefully the police can now work through video footage to try to identify troublemakers and make sure they are punished accordingly.