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A JUDGE has jailed three football hooligans for their part in the so-called “Battle of Waterloo” with Millwall fans last year.

And a court heard all three had already been banned from soccer grounds because of their behaviour.

The clash took place outside The Waterloo pub on Wakefield Road before a Huddersfield Town evening match at the Galpharm Stadium 13 months ago.

And yesterday Judge Peter Benson handed out sentences to the first group of hooligans to be dealt with as part of Operation Triage.

Bradford Crown Court was shown CCTV footage of the violence which erupted after three minibuses carrying Millwall followers stopped at a red traffic light opposite the pub.

The judge said there had been “an outburst of violence” when the minibuses arrived and it had escalated into a scene of violent disorder of a quite serious level.

The judge said the trouble had been started by local yobs who began throwing bottles, glasses and ashtrays across the road.

Although no members of the public were injured in the clashes, the judge said they had been terrified with some people describing how they were trapped in their vehicles as the violence flared all around them.

“It is quite obvious that public disorder on this scale is not acceptable,” the judge told the defendants.

Prosecutor Bashir Ahmed told the court that there was some goading from the people in the minibuses towards the Huddersfield fans, but they responded by throwing bottles and glasses at the stationary vehicles.

“As a result of the missiles being thrown a number of Millwall supporters came out from the minibuses and engaged in violence with the Huddersfield Town supporters,” said Mr Ahmed.

“The police at the time of the violent disorder were significantly outnumbered. There were three officers on the scene initially and they found it impossible to regain any kind of control of the situation.

“It was only after a significant number of reinforcements arrived at the scene that order was eventually restored.”

The CCTV footage showed rival fans exchanging punches during running fights which took place around innocent motorists caught up in the violence.

As a result of the incident the Millwall vehicles suffered almost £3,000 damage, a convenience store window was cracked and passing vehicles were damaged.

Leon Stephenson, 30, of Taylor Hill Road, Taylor Hill, 26-year-old Danny Melia, of Close Lea, Brighouse, and 38-year-old Andrew Miller, of Brackenhall Road, Sheepridge, were all jailed after they admitted a charge of violent disorder. Stephenson, who also admitted having possession of a snooker cue during the disturbance, was jailed for 18 months after Judge Benson heard he was already subject to a six-year football banning order imposed in 2006.

He was seen throwing objects at the rival fans before getting involved in a fight and then using the snooker cue to hit a Millwall supporter.

Melia, who had also been made the subject of a four-year football banning order in November 2007, was locked up for 15 months.

He was caught on camera throwing an object towards the Millwall fans and punching a rival hooligan causing him to fall to the ground.

Miller, who also picked up a snooker cue during the incident and admitted possessing an offensive weapon, was shown throwing missiles towards the Millwall fans.

The court heard he had previous convictions for various offences including assault and affray and he had been subject to a three-year football banning order in the past.

He was jailed for 18 months.

The trio were also made the subject of new football banning orders for a period of six years.

Jailing the three men, Judge Benson noted that it was a common feature in the cases of many of those involved in the disturbance that they had a hard-working, responsible, decent side which seemed to be put on the shelf when they got involved in football violence.

Two other men Gerard Bradshaw, 47, of Greenwood Street, Primrose Hill, and 39-year-old Lee Donaghue, of Melrose Close, Huddersfield, were each given suspended prison terms after they pleaded guilty to affray.

Bradshaw, who had no previous convictions, was said by his barrister to have been in the pub because of his love of alcohol rather than football.

He was seen throwing missiles at the rival fans, but he ended up lying unconscious in a gutter at the side of the road after he was attacked.

He was sentenced to six months in prison, suspended for two years, with an alcohol treatment requirement and a three-month night-time curfew.

Donaghue, who threw objects and was involved in a scuffle, was sentenced to nine months in jail, suspended for two years, and ordered to do 200 hours unpaid work for the community.

The judge decided not to impose a football banning order in Bradshaw’s case, but Donaghue was given a five-year ban.

A sixth man Nicholas Palfreeman, 42, of Edgeware Road, Dalton, , also received a suspended prison term after he admitted assisting an offender by driving about 15 Huddersfield supporters away from the Waterloo pub in a van.

He was sentenced to six months in jail, suspended for two years, and ordered to do 100 hours unpaid work for the community.

Donaghue, Bradshaw, and Palfreeman were each ordered to pay £375 costs and Donaghue and Bradshaw must also pay £250 each towards the compensation claims arising out of the violence.

Judge Benson is due to deal with further Huddersfield Town fans later today and a number of Millwall hooligans later this week.