Sunday 29 October 2017 22:37, UK
West Midlands Police made 10 arrests at the Second City derby as disorder broke out at Birmingham's goalless draw with Aston Villa.
The force confirmed their officers were pelted with bricks and other missiles by Birmingham City fans after the match and chief superintendent Steve Graham said they were "fortunate no-one was hurt".
Clappers issued to home supporters at St Andrew's were also launched onto the pitch during the game, angering the Villa manager Steve Bruce, who once held the same position at the Blues.
Match commander Graham said: "There is a lot of passion and emotion connected to the Blues and Villa derby but it was great to see that the vast majority of supporters embraced the occasion and were well-behaved.
"Unfortunately there was some disorder involving a number of the Birmingham fans straight after the game which saw missiles thrown at officers. This is completely unacceptable and we were fortunate no-one was seriously hurt.
"This delayed us opening the gates for Villa fans to leave the stadium for over an hour while we cleared the scene near the island. We will now be viewing camera footage in relation to this. I would like to thank the Villa supporters for their patience and co-operation during the hold back."
A West Midlands Police statement read: "The Second City derby between Birmingham City and Aston Villa passed by without major disorder this afternoon. There was a highly visible presence of officers in and around St Andrew's as part of the force's policing plan for the fixture.
"There were some pockets of disorder with officers pelted with bricks and bottles by Blues fans outside the ground but no-one was seriously injured.
"Overall, there were 10 arrests throughout the afternoon; eight aged between 15 and 51 on suspicion of public order offences, a 23 year-old man for encroaching onto the pitch and man aged 25 for possession of drugs."
