CHAOS erupted at Ewood Park last night after season ticket seats were closed off because of dangerous overhanging ice on the Walkersteel stand.

Long queues meant many Blackburn Rovers supporters missed the kick-off when they found other people had taken their seats.

One supporter claimed only two turnstiles were in operation and, when fans got to their seats ten minutes after the match started, they found other supporters had moved from the front and taken them.

Rovers fan David Stones said: "When we got inside, it was obvious something wasn't quite right. The first few rows were closed off and people were sitting in other people's seats.

"The Darwen side stands were empty and the stewards were telling people to go out of the ground and in at the Darwen entrance.

"Everywhere you could see people having arguments about their seats.

"Five stewards were watching people come in. Why didn't they tell people while they were outside that anyone in the first five rows should go round the other side? It was absolutely ridiculous." Club safety officer Mel Highmore said there was no option but to close the front few rows because of the ice. It had started to move and to ensure everyone's safety we could not allow those seats to be used. Some fans had to be moved into the Darwen end."

A club spokesman said that with 20 minutes to kick-off there were only 4,000 people in the ground and, with five minutes to go, only 18,000. The gate was 23,000.

"With 20 minutes to go, all the turnstiles were working. Before that, where there was a bank of three turnstiles, two were working and on the Walker Steel stand we had four working," he said.

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