Bournemouth: flare smoke in Old Christchurch Road

Image: © Chris Downer Taken: 11 Jul 2018

It is a couple of minutes since England went out of the World Cup, after extra time in the semi-finals, and disappointed fans start to disperse from the various pubs and bars along Old Christchurch Road. There are a number of pubs and bars dotted all down this stretch of road towards the town centre. When England won the quarter-final a few days ago, the road was awash with celebrating fans - beer-fuelled but very good-hearted with only a couple of arrests for wayward behaviour. This evening, although it's only a few minutes after the final whistle and I was only walking by, there seems to be little trouble just now. There appeared to be a reasonably heavy police presence, but they did not need to be any more than observational as I walked past just now. It appears that a flare has just been let off downhill from here, and the smoke is starting to pervade the air. See Image for another photo a minute or two earlier, just uphill from here.

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