LANCASHIRE’S new chief crown prosecutor said the big test for the authorities would come if or when England were knocked out of the World Cup.

Ian Rushton, who has just rejoined the county’s Crown Prosecution Service, is also the national lead for domestic affairs resulting from the month-long tournament.

He praised the public for ‘heeding the messages’ from police so far, but added: “The acid test will come when England are kno-cked out.

Fabio Capello’s side face a win-or-bust game with Slovenia on Wednesay.

Although the game is being played on a weekday afternoon, instead of a weekend evening, fans’ emotions will be running high both at home and abroad.

Mr Rushton, 52, was the branch crown prosecutor in Burnley from 2001-2005 after progressing up the ranks through the late 1990s and has returned to the county from his position in Cheshire.

He has been ‘shadowing’ the dedicated football policing unit which is over in South Africa, and he praised fans both home and abroad.

He said: “All supporters with banning orders in Lancashire have complied with their requirements.

"It’s so far so good and there’s been nothing major to cause us concern.

"With the first game being on a Saturday night and with a heady mix of all day drinking and good weather, there was the potential here.

"But there were no large-scale incidents and it was a big success.”

Mr Rushton also said the high profile campaigns in the county had made a ‘positive impact’ on drink driving and domestic violence figures during the open-ing games of the tournament.

Mr Rushton, who also supervised the CPS response to the 2001 Burnley Riots and ran the Garry Newlove murder case while in Cheshire, also predicted that Euro 2012 will prove ‘more of a challenge’ due to the ease of travel to Poland and Ukraine.

“Providing England qualify!” he added.