THE East Lancashire derby was marred by trouble with more than 40 people arrested in several incidents after Blackburn Rovers' 1-0 win.

Clarets fans in the David Fishwick stand, near the away supporters, were forced back by police using batons as they tried to vent their frustrations at their arch-rivals at the final whistle.

Meanwhile, in the Rovers end, Burnley club officials said 150 seats were ripped up and toilets were smashed.

And today the club and police were investigating how Rovers fans were allowed to carry bottles of beer onto the stand during the match.

There were pockets of trouble after the game, with two arrests outside The Lounge, opposite Turf Moor, over a bottle throwing incident.

The window of a Rovers supporters’ coach was smashed as it made its way out of Burnley.

And around 5.15pm, four arrests were made outside The Princess Royal when more than 20 officers were called to a disturbance.

There was a further incident at Burnley Culvert, near Turf Moor, at 6pm where arrests were made.

However, police said a heavy presence in Burnley and every East Lancashire town, kept tension to a minimum.

Before the game, Blackburn fans were gathering at Ewood from 8.30am, and two men were thrown off a coach by police for being drunk.

The first of six coach convoys left Ewood around 9.15am, arriving with a police escort around 9.45am.

Each of the eight-coach convoys followed, with all Rovers fans in the ground for 11am.

After the game Harry Potts Way and parts of Belvedere Road were closed around the away end so that Blackburn fans could return to their 48 coaches.

All the away supporters coaches had left the ground an hour after the final whistle and the police were dispersed.

Superintendent Terry Woods said: “A major policing operation was in place throughout the day to prevent to any disorder.

"Unfortunately we had to deal with some disorder inside and outside the ground, however the operation that was in place enabled us to successfully deal with those pockets of disorder rapidly.

“As part of the operation, we used our intelligence database to make a number of pro-active arrests as a preventative measure against further disorder within specific groups.

“I would like to point out that the vast majority of fans behaved appropriately; unfortunately, a minority chose not to behave in the same way which has led to a number of arrests.

“The safety of the majority of spectators there to enjoy the game was paramount and I am conscious that in order to achieve this, people leaving the ground had to take alternative routes home.

“I would like to thank those fans who were patient, especially around travel arrangements and changing their route home."

Police reported a ‘good natured atmosphere’ between both sets of supporters in Accrington, Oswaldtwistle and Great Harwood town centre pubs.

The Football Association have started the process of looking into the disorder that broke out.

They are contacting the clubs, match officials and police before deciding what action to take if any.