POLICE have issued an update on last night’s incident of disorder that happened outside Villa Park.

West Midlands Police has said it has 46 people in custody following the incident in which officers were subjected to 90 minutes of sustained violence.

Police said they contained and dispersed fans outside the ground before the Aston Villa vs Legia Warsaw game, but trouble flared.

As a result, 46 people, all away fans, were in custody this morning for offences including violent disorder, assaulting police officers and weapons possession.

No home fans were arrested and there were no issues from Aston Villa supporters at any point, police have stressed.

Four officers were injured in the disorder, which saw them attacked with flares.

One officer's fluorescent jacket caught fire after they were hit with a flare. Luckily his jacket was removed quickly and he was not injured.

He was later taken to hospital with smoke inhalation after the smoke from the flare made it into his helmet.

Another officer suffered a minor hand injury and police dog and a police horse were injured in the disorder but not seriously.

Assistant Chief Constable Damian Barratt said: "This was appalling and completely unacceptable disorder.

"What we saw was 90 minutes of planned violence, with one officer saying it was the worst he had seen in 28 years of policing.

"Our officers bravely put themselves in harm's way and I would like to commend each and every one of them for their efforts.

"We are committed to charging and remanding any and all responsible for attacking our officers and endangering the public.

"We had no issues with the home fans and would like to thank them and Aston Villa for their support and kind words last night and this morning.

"The only issues inside the ground last night were from a small number of away fans who had managed to get into home areas.

"We will be liaising with the club and footballing authorities in the coming days to discuss last night's appalling scenes."