Curfew for 'fooligans' in court ban breach

Three football hooligans who broke a court order banning them from following Wolves to games have been confined to their homes on matchdays.

Curfews will now keep the three at home when their team is in action after they were spotted in Darlaston in the run-up to a friendly match in Walsall.

When Simon Evans, Paul Gregory and Mark Hodgetts were quizzed by police, they claimed they had no idea Darlaston was in the borough of Walsall – despite one of them being a postman.

Evans and Gregory were spotted in the beer garden of a Darlaston pub on July 21, before Wolves playing the pre-season friendly against Walsall that same day.

Mark Hodgetts was seen in Asda car park, in St Lawrence's Way. Royal Mail worker Evans, aged 26, 28-year-old waiter Gregory and binman Hodgetts, 20, all pleaded guilty to failing to comply to a banning order when they appeared at Walsall Magistrates Court on July 28. Hodgetts, who has 17 middle names in honour of Wolves' 1988-1989 promotion-winning team, and Gregory were previously told custody could not be ruled out because of their previous convictions for football-related violence.

But at Walsall Magistrates Court yesterday, the gang – dubbed fooligans for their stupidity – were handed a curfew and a 12-month supervision order. Mrs Debbie Starrs, defending, said Evans, of Wentworth Road, Bushbury; Gregory, of Wesley Road, Billbrook and Hodgetts, of Hellier Road, Wolverhampton, had been "in the wrong place at the wrong time." She said: "It is not suggested they had gone to the match or were going to go, or had caused any aggravation."

All three must now stay at home from 2pm until midnight on Saturdays for the next six months. They will also be confined to their homes from 8pm to 7am on Mondays to Thursdays and on Sundays, while on Fridays, they must be at home from 8pm to 2am. Hodgetts, who was subject to a suspended sentence for a previous conviction of affray, was also ordered to do an extra 20 hours unpaid work. They must each pay £60 in costs. Mrs Lilas Rawling, chairman of the bench, told them: "You need to get yourselves a map of the UK so you can work out exactly where you are allowed to go."

When the three men last appeared in court, they tried to get an Express & Star photographer to delete their pictures.

Gregory at first donned a balaclava to hide his identity.