THE sticker on the wrecked bar of the Navigation Inn boasted the logo of neo-Nazis Combat 18. Around 100 hooligans had left the family-run pub in Burton-on-Trent, Staffordshire, devastated by a mindless orgy of destruction, which included smashing the pool table in half and attacking the landlady's son when he tried to stop thugs from pinching stock from the cellar.

The backdrop for this senseless act was a non-league football cup tie, usually a friendly affair, where most of the aggression is spent by the players on the pitch as they try to get through to the next round.

Unfortunately, as the tie between Bishop Auckland, from the UniBond League, and Burton Albion, of the Dr Marten's League, went on, around 60 of the visiting troublemakers decided they wanted to be on the pitch too.

In the end, three people were arrested for public order offences and police are studying video footage to bring the other culprits to book.

Although police say there is not a strong Combat 18 presence in the Bishop Auckland area of County Durham, and doubt whether "real" members were involved on Saturday, the Tyne and Wear Anti-fascist Association (TWAFA) is not surprised to hear the group may have been involved.

Combat 18's origins was to provide security for the British National Party, though the two groups appeared to go separate ways during the early 1990s. It takes part of its name from the numerical position of Adolf Hitler's initials in the alphabet - 1 and 8.

It originally promised a race war against immigrants and a system which it believed had abandoned working class white people. It is believed to have developed links with Loyalist paramilitaries in Ulster and neo-Nazis across Europe and the USA. The group traditionally seeks support among football hooligans.

A TWAFA spokesman says: "Combat 18 tries to influence groups of kids to become involved in their activities and lead them into fascist politics and political violence. This type of hooliganism is symptomatic of far-right activity. The fascists will use any opportunity to try and latch on to groups to try and influence them."

Still, it may be surprising to some to find trouble at what people might describe as small fry in the football world; a third round FA Trophy tie between Bishop Auckland and Burton Albion is not exactly Manchester United versus Liverpool.

But this may be the point. Where the games are lower-profile there is likely to be less security and less of a police presence.

Durham's Assistant Chief Constable Ron Hogg, head of the specialist intelligence unit responsible for policing England games abroad and a former match commander at Sunderland games, says: "As you go down the leagues and when you go into the non-leagues, there is so much more opportunity for problems.

"All the league teams have football intelligence officers and the information they hold is exchanged to prevent hooliganism.

"In the non-leagues, they are not prepared for that and they don't have intelligence in place because, by and large there is no need. We didn't expect any problems in Burton and I am sure Staffordshire Police didn't until it all kicked off.

"The control mechanisms (such as CCTV) you normally face at Football League grounds are not there in the non-league. Saturday's game was a cup match, a big occasion where some people have taken the opportunity of going away, where no one knows them, to cause problems. In the majority of non-league matches that we have there is no problem at all."

Instances of non-league football related violence in the region are not high, though the Misfits, linked with amateur side Tow Law, have been branded the most active hooligan gang outside the professional game.

The last time Bishop Auckland was associated with trouble was following an FA Trophy tie with Altrincham in 1997.

Tony Golightly, secretary of the Albany Northern League, says: "I have been all around the country following non-league football and I have never seen any problems. A few of us go to the FA Vase final and have two or three days away just to meet supporters from other sides and talk about football.

"From my experience of non-league football, the opposition club always looks after you, you have a few drinks in their clubhouse and it's a very enjoyable, friendly experience."

Which, despite the ugly scenes at the weekend, is, after all, the true spirit of the game.