Police horse kills fan trying to prevent fighting

A football supporter was trampled to death by a police horse as he tried to stop violence between rival fans on what should have been a day of celebration for both clubs.

Swansea City travelled to Rotherham on Saturday to contest the Third Division championship in the last match of their season. Both teams had already secured promotion from the basement of the Football League and hundreds of Welsh fans made the trip north to Yorkshire, hoping to see their team lift the winners' trophy.

But amid a series of clashes just before the match, Terry Coles, a Swansea supporter, was fatally injured when mounted police tried to restore order. A post-mortem examination found he suffered a fractured skull and internal injuries. A police spokesman said yesterday: "This horse was cantering and it appears this gentleman walked into its path, was knocked to the ground and trampled."

The match had to be stopped twice because of pitch invasions. It ended in a 1-1 draw, meaning Swansea were the champions. Nineteen people were arrested before and during the match.

There followed expressions of regret, accusations and recriminations. The death of Mr Coles, 41, came after the authorities had stated they had controlled, to a large degree, the problem of football hooliganism in Britain. The death in Turkey last month of two Leeds fans, they had said, would not be repeated here.

Apart from the personal grief of Mr Coles's family, including his two children, the killing has wider ramifications.

Sir Bobby Charlton spoke of his foreboding about the coming European Championship in Belgium and the Netherlands. Violence involving English fans, he said, would dash the bid to stage the 2006 World Cup. The campaign director of England's bid, Alec McGivan, said: "Any trouble at any time of this sort, where tragedy is involved, doesn't help."

The Football Association has sent its condolences to Mr Coles's family and said it will hold an inquiry into the violence. The Police Complaints Authority has been informed and South Yorkshire Police has asked it to appoint an outside force to investigate.

Flowers and cards were left outside the Swansea City ground yesterday, just as they were left outside Leeds' Elland Road ground after the Istanbul killings. There had been such tributes in the past, after disasters at the Heysel stadium in Belgium and Hillsborough, Sheffield, in the 1980s.

Outside the Swansea ground a card bore the message: "Another senseless death at the hands of the South Yorkshire Police." The sentiment may be emotive, but Tim Hollis, the Assistant Chief Constable of South Yorkshire, said: "The memories are as strong for South Yorkshire Police as they are for anybody. I am well aware that this is a very real issue, but we are much more sensitive to the issue of safety at sports grounds than others."

So what went wrong at Rotherham? The match was considered "high risk" and 117 police officers had been deployed at the ground and in the town centre. Their job was to keep rival fans separate, prevent public order disturbances and escort the Swansea contingent into the ground. Mr Hollis said that, from "the police perspective, it was a challenging match".

Mr Coles, a brewery drayman, had gone to the game in a minibus with 20 other fans. He was separated from his wife, Christine, but lived near his former family home at Morriston in Swansea and was devoted to his daughter, Natalie, 11, and son, Matthew, 13.

Natalie, like her father, was a keen Swansea supporter, and held a season ticket. Mr Coles refused to take her to away games, because of his worry about violence.

The visiting fans were met off the minibus by the police and taken down Millmoor Lane by the police. Then, at about 2.30 in the afternoon, a group of youths appeared at a pub balcony and threw bottles, bricks and cans at the Swansea supporters.

Peter Jones, who had been with Mr Coles, said: "All hell broke loose. Swansea fans were throwing bottles back. But I was close to Terry and I heard him shout at people to stop. He was telling the Swans boys not to retaliate because it would only make things worse. Then the mounted police arrived and charged at the crowd. Terry was near the front and a horse knocked him off his feet about six feet backwards. As the horse was turning Terry got trampled.

"It was bedlam. Everyone was running everywhere. We simply did not know how badly Terry was hurt." Mr Coles died in hospital.