Yorkshire football fans among those banned following pitch invasion at Gillingham v Rotherham

A total of 22 football fans have been banned from going to all matches across the country for a total of 81 years and one was jailed after a pitch invasion at a League One game.

Hooligans flooded the pitch at the final whistle of Gillingham's clash with Rotherham and began fighting and throwing objects. Immediately after full-time at Priestfield Stadium, Kent, on April 30 a mass of spectators flooded the pitch. The football hooligans received jail sentences, bans, fines, and 2,640 hours of community service between them at a series of court hearings last week.

Among them was 23-year-old Jake Walton from Rotherham, who was banned for 10 years and handed a four-month suspended sentence for 24 months and 250 hours of community service.

One of the oldest of the group, Andrew Duke, 53, also from Rotherham, received an eight-week sentence suspended for 12 months, 200 hours of community service and a four-year ban.

Rogue pitch-invader James Mackenzie did not turn up to court on Thursday (Dec 8), but he was arrested after police spotted him in the crowd that evening at The Gill's FA Cup game against Dagenham and Redbridge that was televised on the BBC.

At Medway Magistrates the next day, he was handed 200 hours of community service and banned from watching live football in England and Wales for three years. Those who pleaded guilty to public order offences over the pitch invasion were handed Football Banning Orders on Thursday and Friday this week by Medway magistrates.

Kingsley Dume, 25, from Sheerness, Kent, was jailed for eight weeks and received a seven-year Football Banning Order. The orders ranged from three years - which made up the vast majority of the bans - to 10 years, which went to Walton.

If they were not jailed or waiting to be sentenced at a later date, the majority of the men aged 18 to 53 were made to do hundreds of hours of community service each, ranging between 120 hours and 230, police said.

Football Banning Order stops defendants from attending professional and semi-professional football matches in the UK for three years and also puts restrictions on them travelling abroad during England away games or international tournaments.

Superintendent Ray Quiller of Kent Police said: "There is absolutely no place in football or anywhere else in society for the type of violence and behaviour that occurred following this particular match.

"In the presence of genuine football supporters, including children, the actions of these individuals were totally unacceptable.

"Football Banning Orders were introduced in the late 1980s to help improve safety at matches, and they remain an important power at our disposal despite there being far fewer incidents today than there were back then.

"I am pleased to see them given in the circumstances of this case and we will continue to seek these against offenders who act in this manner at football matches.

"We are proud of the strong relationships we have with the football clubs across Kent and I hope these results demonstrate how seriously we take it when the actions of a mindless few put other people's safety and wellbeing at risk."