Ex-police officer who went undercover in hooligan firm reveals terrifying incident he had to watch to avoid blowing his cover

A former police officer who went undercover in one of the most dangerous football firms recalled the moment he had to watch a terrifying incident unfold and being unable to intervene.

Hooliganism in English football was at its most rife in the 1980s and a Metropolitan Police operation codenamed Operation Pegasus saw James Bannon spend months inside the Millwall firm called the 'Bushwackers'.

In 1987, he was first to pose as a painter and decorator called Jim Ford from Wandsworth - turning up to the Millwall pub in his overalls.

He was just 21 at the time and his alias had a girlfriend and a young baby. Bannon spent two years undercover in the Millwall firm in an incredibly challenging gig and was on "knife-edge" all the time.

"We started going to the Millwall pub, in our painting and decorating overalls," Bannon said in the Channel 4 documentary 'Italia 90: When Football Changed Forever'.

"It is a really s****y, snidey thing to do, to go into somewhere and try and convince people that you're something you are not.

"When actually you are trying to gather evidence against them.

"But, it was the only way to stop people, some really not very nice people beating the s**t out of people, that actually some people didn't want to have the s**t out of them.

"You have to really, really be on your game the entire time. You have to totally and utterly commit to your legend, your cover."

Bannon was undercover in the Millwall firm. Image: LADbible

Police officer had to witness horror incident

Bannon had to stick to his cover at all times and that meant even fighting with opposition fans in experiences which he found to be "quick, brutal and not very pleasant". He had to be extremely convincing in order to move towards gathering the best possible evidence.

And unfortunately for Bannon, that meant being completely unable to intervene when an innocent Crystal Palace was battered on a train in front of his wife and children.

He desperately wanted to arrest the individual but simply could not risk it for the bigger picture.

"This d**k just stood up, walked over and just punched this guy in the head. And then started kicking him," Bannon recalled.

"His kids are screaming and crying. His wife is crying. He has got a massive cut. His lip is bleeding. And he is on the floor sobbing.

"Every single sinew within me wanted to jump on this p**k and arrest him. But we couldn't. If we had done that and broken cover, we were f***ed.

As part of the operation to crack down on English hooliganism going into the 1990 World Cup in Italy, officers were also placed in groups linked to Chelsea, Arsenal, West Ham, Manchester City and Manchester United.

Bannon left the police force and has had various ventures, including acting, running a property company and starring in a stand-up show.