Euro 2004 battle plan

Police in Portugal today staged a mock riot as they prepared for a possible clashes with England hooligans at Euro 2004.

Officers wielding batons and double-barrelled guns loaded with rubber bullets faced hundreds of Portuguese men posing as rioting fans - modelled on England supporters - in one of the most ambitious simulations of crowd violence staged.

Codenamed Operation Eurolisboa, the mock riot lasted more than an hour and was planned around the possibility of hooligans travelling on a train from Lisbon's Estadio da Luz, where England play their first match against France on 13 June.

Police sources in Lisbon see the match as the first flashpoint of the tournament and used today's exercise to test their readiness for the arrival of up to 60,000 English fans expected in Portugal for the tournament.

Spokeswoman Isabel Canelas said: "Some fans

cause more trouble than others; you can read between the lines."

The exercise also saw officers testing their responses to other possible incidents, including an al Qaeda bomb attack on a metro station. Ms Canelas added: "We have been training for months to cope with any possible problems.

"It was intended to test our reactions to the ultimate nightmare scenario."

The first part saw police hold the fans inside a train to prevent them clashing with other hooligans. The train was surrounded by transport police until elite rapid reaction officers arrived to quell the "riot".

The simulation took place in "real time" to test the responses of emergency services. The rapid reaction officers took 14 minutes to arrive at the metro station.

Police also used the exercise to simulate two "terrorists" shooting at a crowd of fans and police officers before escaping into metro tunnels where they detonated two bombs.

As paramedics ferried the "wounded" to a field hospital set up outside the metro station, bomb disposal experts in chemical warfare suits checked the tunnel.

Superintendent Guedes de Silva said: "This event was designed to test every aspect of our responses.

"We hope the hooligans will have the sense to stay away, but if they come we will be ready."

The Portuguese government has spent £8million refitting police riot gear, investing in an armoury of anti-hooligan kit including pepper sprays, stun grenade launchers and special lightweight "flash ball" guns that shoot a rubber bullet or tear-gas canister 100 yards.