POLICE have ordered the removal of pro-hooligan and anti-Blackburn Rovers material from a website run by so-called Burnley fans.

The authors of the Longside Loyalist internet pages were reprimanded after they threatened to publish the names and addresses of Rovers fans and 'show them the error of their ways'.

The shocking pages, titled Bastard Watch, have been removed after they were uncovered by the Citizen.

The website - accessible to computer users worldwide, including children - also contained an article on the 'glory years' of football violence, and a declaration of allegiance to Loyalist groups in Ulster.

Inspector Dave Holden of Burnley police said: "We have spoken to the site operator after consulting the Crown Prosecution Service and we have advised him to remove the offending items.

"We will be monitoring it and any other websites in the locality. We will be vigilant."

The cleaned-up site now carries the message: "Sadly our most popular page has fallen victim to dubious threats of prosecution by the CPS... So for the foreseeable future Bastard Watch has had to be suspended."

Insp Holden added: "The internet is another avenue that must be explored - it has its uses but it also has its drawbacks. Everyone is entitled to free speech, but when that infringes other people's liberty, it must be stopped."

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.