Fans warned of terror threat ahead of match

POLICE URGE VIGILANCE

NEWCASTLE United fans are being urged to stay vigilant this season as the UK terror threat level remains severe.

The Toon Army will be out in force today as their team take on Tottenham Hotspur in the first game since their return to the Premier League.

As Northumbria Police put its policing plans for the new football season in place, officers had to keep the current UK terror threat in mind.

This summer was blighted by the bombing at the Ariana Grande concert in Manchester, and the attack on London Bridge.

Following these two incidents, the risk of terrorist activity remains “severe”. And, while there is no intelli- gence of f any di direct t threatth t tot th the N North,th Northumbria Police’s operations commander, Sarah Pitt, said football supporters should still be mindful of the current situation.

“Terrorism is a consideration when policing anything with large crowds,” she explained. “The national threat level is still at severe and there have been a number of things occur in Europe around football stadia. We have to be conscious of that.

“There’s no direct threat around us but we will have appropriate policing in place to deal with situations. The message about attendance at any event is clearly ‘be vigilant’, but go about your Superintendent Sarah Pitt day-to-day scared.”

Northumbria Police begin planning for the next football season as soon as officers know which leagues both New- business and don’t be castle United and Sunderland AFC will be playing in.

During preparation, police have gathered information from other forces across the country about the teams and fans that will travel to the North East, and trawled through intelligence held by the UKFPU (football policing unit).

Since the summer’s terror attacks, armed police have become a familiar sight on the streets of Newcastle.

And Supt Pitt said fans should not be alarmed by their presence.

“People will have already seen armed officers at football matches and that will continue this season. They will see them in and around the stadia.

“It’s very much around re-assurance. They are very very approachable, and we would encourage people to have a chat and say ‘hello’.

“They are there all the time in Newcastle city centre and we are very conscious that we are making our armed officers very visible. We want people to be reassured by that.”