Football fans threw beer glasses and urinated over a clubhouse during a mass brawl.

About 30 fans of Newport County caused mayhem after their game against Bognor on Saturday.

Some 25 police officers and a number of police dogs were called to Bognor's Nyewood Lane ground after the visiting fans began fighting each other in the clubhouse.

Bognor steward Phil Diamond said: "They were all the worse for wear, arguing and fighting among themselves. Then they started throwing beer at each other and over the ceiling.

"They were urinating everywhere in the toilets, all over the walls, the floor and in the sinks."

Arun police chief Brian Bracher condemned the violence and said he feared for the safety of his officers as they tried to break up the fighting. He said: "It would appear that a large number of the supporters were drunk when they arrived at the ground and, in the opinion of my officers, should not have been allowed entry to the match, let alone allowed to continue drinking in the ground bar.

"This causes me significant concern and I have directed a full investigation into the circumstances around this event.

"I would like to publicly praise the bravery of the first officers attending, who were put in a very dangerous situation in trying to deal with the problems in the bar.

"Even with a high level of threats they acted in a very calm and professional manner to keep the situation under control until further assistance arrived."

One Bognor fan has described the situation as "incredibly scary". John Halsey, 59, was at the match and said he feared for his life as fans began shouting and screaming at each other.

He said: "It was absolute bedlam for most of the match, they were insulting and shouting abuse at all the players.

"Then right after the match they continued drinking and drinking and it kicked off very quickly.

"I thought I was going to be hit several times by about three men who just went at each other.

"It was incredibly scary for all concerned."

Two men were arrested at the club. One was arrested for running onto the pitch and the other for causing affray.

Mr Diamond said club officials tried to shut the bar but decided to wait for police to arrive. He said: "We tried closing the bar but the way they were behaving it would have been bedlam so we waited until the police arrived. They were spitting at bar staff and throwing beer over them.

"I have been here about 20 years and I have never seen anything like that. It was a disgrace."

The game had been earmarked as a memorial game to mark the anniversary of the murder of Newport fan, Lemy Bullock. A minute's silence was observed before the game and Bognor had been warned to expect more away fans than usual.

Club manager Jack Pearce said: "There was no provocation from any of the Bognor supporters to any of the Newport fans and the vast majority of the Newport supporters were impeccably behaved. Unfortunately a few decided to drink too much. Their behaviour was disgraceful."