Ten charged with violent disorder in Goodwood brawl following dozen arrests

Sussex Police have made 12 arrests in connection with the brawl that marred Goodwood's opening fixture of the season in May.

About 50 people were thought to have been involved in multiple altercations at the course, which resulted in four people being taken to hospital with serious injuries – all of whom were later discharged – and several others receiving minor injuries.

The arrests were made across Southampton and Gosport in the early hours of Thursday and, of the 12, ten people aged between 18-32 were later charged with violent disorder. They were all bailed and will appear at Worthing Magistrates' Court on September 25.

A 39-year-old was charged with actual bodily harm and will appear at the court on the same day, while a further suspect arrested on suspicion of violent disorder was released under investigation.

The officer in charge of the operation, Ceri Spratt of the Chichester Investigations team, said: "We have worked hard alongside Goodwood and Hampshire Constabulary to identify these 12 suspects from the altercation and are pleased we managed to get a full house in arrests.

"The video of the altercation was widely circulated on social media at the time and this level of violence is unacceptable.

"We worked robustly with Hampshire Constabulary officers to bring each of them into custody and welcome the charging decisions by the Crown Prosecution Service."

Following other incidents of violence in the early part of the summer, including at Ascot seven days later, many racecourses moved to beef up their security measures and deployed sniffer dogs in an attempt to deter violent behaviour and drug use.

If you are interested in this, you should read:

Police seek witnesses to 50-man brawl at Goodwood on Saturday

Goodwood to review its security after complaints fight went on unabated

Three taken to hospital as 20-man brawl mars Goodwood's opening fixture

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