GERMAN riot police charged crowds of football supporters in the centre of Cologne last night at the end of England’s match against Sweden.

Police with batons drawn moved in to thwart what appeared to be an attempt by German football hooligans to attack English fans in the central Café Alter Markt.

Officers surrounded one bar where German fans were drinking and formed a human barricade between the Germans and English.

There had been tensions throughout the day between groups of supporters, many of whom had been drinking all day. Tens of thousands of Germans took to the streets to celebrate their team’s earlier 3-0 victory over Ecuador. An estimated 60,000 England supporters were in the city and many without tickets watched England’s match in clubs and on outdoor screens.

The trouble began at the Altstadt Pub where a large crowd of young Germans had gathered. At the final whistle in England’s match the German supporters made an attempt to rush English people drinking on the opposite side of the square.

The white-helmeted police officers made several baton charges to clear Germans to the east side of the square and drove England supporters towards the west.

Police came under a hail of bottles, chairs and other missiles as bystanders fled in panic.

Teams of plain clothes police officers then moved in, dragging rioters from the crowds, pushing them to the ground, pulling their hands behind their back and restraining them with plastic wrist ties.

The troublemakers were then hauled from the square and photographed while officers considered whether to press charges.

Five English fans were arrested for drunken behaviour at the stadium. Thirty known German hooligans were arrested in Café Alter Markt by riot police. Up to 100 were detained overnight.

Cologne’s police chief confirmed that the incidents had been sparked by a group of known German football hooligans who were drinking in the Kulisse bar on the Café Alter Markt. Klaus Steffenhagen told The Times: “Our spotters recognised 30 category C football hooligans, some from Cologne and some from other parts of Germany.

“We moved in to arrest them before they could do anything and we had to clear the square to carry out the operation.

“There were no problems at all with the English fans, they did not cause any trouble. We were acting on intelligence information.”

About 100 Germans drinking in another bar began throwing bottles and glasses as police cleared the square. A number of English fans were seen throwing chairs.

Rory Leach and his family were trapped in the square as police moved to seal it off. They were sitting outside a café when a crowd of supporters were chased by riot officers along the street.

Mr Leach, from Bradford, said: “I thought it was the English causing trouble but apparently it was the Germans. I just saw all these people running down and I grabbed Callum, my 12-year-old son, and pulled him in tight against the wall. He was very scared. The police were smashing people with truncheons, Germans, English and anybody who got in the way.

“Basically the Germans are looking for us [the English] — when that message gets around it’s sure to cause trouble.”

During earlier skirmishes there were encouraging signs, with some fans trying to restrain those intent on violence. “What are you doing, you stupid bastard?” one Englishman screamed at another. “You are going to ruin everything.” Assistant Chief Constable Stephen Thomas, commander of the British football policing unit at the World Cup, said: “Our supporters try to self- police these days. They don’t want to go back to the old days of lines of riot police, dogs and horses greeting them at the railway station.”

Tens of thousands of England fans are flocking into Germany’s World Cup cities, cramming into campsites and hotels.

The vast majority are simply enjoying themselves. The weather is fantastic, the lager is better and cheaper than at home and the strains of Football’s Coming Home — sung by fans of every nation — are louder and more frequent than the “Inger-land” chants.

The concern for most is finding a ticket. Fans wander the streets pleading for spares but loathe paying the prices demanded by the English touts.

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