MORE than 80 so-called football fans have now been banned from attending matches in East Lancashire, latest figures have revealed.

New Home Office statistics show Burnley FC tops the table for football banning orders locally with 57 sanctions - up four on last season.

Blackburn Rovers saw two new orders for the 2006-07 campaign, bringing the Ewood Park club's running total to 17, and there still have not been any imposed involving Accrington Stanley supporters.

But the figures do not include the outcome of two high-profile football hooliganism cases reported by the Lancashire Telegraph this week - bringing the overall total to 80-plus.

On Monday, six Blackburn Rovers fans were given banning orders following violence which flared up at the club's UEFA Cup clash against Bayer Leverkusen on Valentine's Day.

And Andrew Porter, 41, of Parliament Street, Burnley, was given a four-year banning order by Reedley magistrates on Wednesday.

The number of arrests has nearly doubled, for home and away matches involving Burnley, from 2005/06 to 2006/07.

But police chiefs say the Burnley rise can be accounted for following one flashpoint fixture - the Clarets home tie against Birmingham City resulted in more than a dozen arrests.

Sgt Colin Hudson, of Operation Fixture, the football disorder camaign in Burnley, said: "The numbers do fluctuate from season to season, depending on which fixtures arise or whether the team has a long cup run."

Usually officers had a keen idea on which fixtures will present problems, after analysing intelligence reports and consulting colleagues around the country.

Sgt Hudson said particular attention had been paid to Burnley's home game against newly-promoted Blackpool, after they had been tipped-off about potential trouble.

The number of arrests involving Rovers fans dropped from 27, in 2005-06, to just 21, in league and cup games last season.

Meanwhile arrests for Accrington supporters quadrupled - from just one detention in 2005-06 to four during Stanley's last League Two season.