POLICE say the death of Nottingham Forest fan Nathan Shaw spurred them on in the fight against football hooliganism in Burnley.

Today sees the Midlands club visit Turf Moor for the first time since the tragic death of the 17-year-old Forest fan.

Nathan was killed in Burnley town centre when he was hit on the head with a bottle as he made his way to the Burnley v Nottingham Forest match at Turf Moor at the end of last year.

Andrew McNee, of Rossendale, was jailed for seven years after pleading guilty to manslaughter earlier this year.

His death spurred on the authorities into action against the small minority of hooligans and gave them a renewed determination to stamp out the troublemakers.

Burnley fans were also outraged at the death and have shown their determination since the tragedy not to let the name of Burnley FC be associated with hooliganism.

Chief Inspector Richard Morgan, of Burnley Police, said: "When Nathan died it certainly galvanised everyone into working together to try and stamp out the hooligans. The police, the football club, the local authority and the supporters' associations were all determined to take action.

"Our own Operation Fixture was spurred on by it because it was a death which sent shockwaves through the town and made us redouble our efforts."

Police say Operation Fixture, a clampdown on hooligans, is now so successful it is being looked at by other forces across the country.

Senior officers from Nottinghamshire Police have visited Burnley and are considering introducing their own version of the scheme.

And Chief Insp Morgan has given talks to the National Criminal Intelligence Service on Fixture and will give a talk later this month to the National Match Commanders conference in Berkshire.

Figures released last month showed Burnley recorded the second highest number of arrests in the first division, behind Nottingham Forest, and officers said the rise was due to the success of Operation Fixture.

The total number of those arrested at league and cup games rose from 45 in the 2001-2002 season to 130 last season. The figures for last season include arrests for breaching of banning orders.

Burnley also came 9th out of all the clubs in the country, a table topped by Manchester United with 186 arrests.

Currently 48 people are banned from Turf Moor by magistrates with a further ten cases going through the courts.

Clarets fans too have played their part in clamping down on the hooligan minority. A Spokesman for one supporters' association said: "Everyone was horrified by Nathan's death, but I don't think anything has changed in the way we are treated when we go to away matches or how we treat fans when they come here.

"The vast majority of supporters just want to go to games and have a good day out and most of the time that happens. I spoke to Ipswich fans after they came up here and they said they had a fantastic day out.

"For the last few months there has been very little trouble and we all want that to continue. We can't have a small minority spoiling things for the rest of us."