Police Form Barrier at London Stadium to Stop Crowd Trouble During West Ham's Game With Stoke

A strong Metropolitan Police presence prevented West Ham United's match with Stoke from becoming marred with violence as officers formed a barrier between the two sets of fans to prevent crowd trouble from breaking out.

There were initial signs of disturbances in the stadium during the first-half but the heavier police presence proved to be effective as the London club thankfully avoided another ugly overshadowing of a football match with problems in the stands.

The London Stadium: an unloved venue resulting from expensive mistakes | By @owen_g https://t.co/PAlG3Jk4xY

The Hammers' EFL Cup match with Chelsea some weeks agowas marred by violence when seats were smashed and fans clashed, with West Ham banning around 200 fans who were caught on CCTV participating in the trouble.

Saturday's 1-1 draw with Stoke marked the first the Metropolitan Police were present inside the London Stadium in order to segregate fans. The police presence extended to outside the stadium and thethe walkway to the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park.

Police officers were given handheld cameras to catch any trouble, while police vans and horses were used as the game was played out without major incident, particularly in contrast to several games this season.

In the Hammers' first competitive match at the London Stadium, against Astra Giurgiu in the Europa League qualifying stage,fights broke out in the stands.

Matters worsened during West Ham's 4-2 defeat to Watford, with several fights between the two sets of fans being captured on camera, while the violence during the Chelsea game led to a considerable ramp-up in security.