FOR Blackburn Rovers Boxing Day fixture against Leeds United in 1985, fans got their first sight of a new hi-tech deterrent being used in the fight against football hooliganism.

The ‘Hoolivan’ equipped with a variety of camera and filming equipment and funded by the Home Office was parked outside the turnstiles to the Darwen End.

Inside the van, police officers were monitoring the crowd and keeping their eye out for potential troublemakers. The ‘Hoolivan’ also acted as a communications centre for policing outside the ground.

Now police vans with cameras are commonplace around sporting fixtures but more than 25 years ago this was something new. The Leeds game was selected due to the large number of fans who would follow Leeds for their away games.

The Division Two fixture was played in front of a crowd of 8,666 fans with Rovers winning 2-0 and there were no major disturbances needing to be dealt with either before or after the game.