SEVEN Southampton football thugs have been jailed after police smashed a south coast hooligan ring.

The Saints supporters received sentences totalling 16 years after admitting conspiring to organise violence before a match with Charlton Athletic in April 2002.

The rival fans orchestrated the brawl at a London railway station months in advance using mobile phones and Internet websites.

Police believe the incident was a revenge attack for violent scenes that erupted six months earlier when the football teams clashed in Southampton.

A young Saints fan was glassed in a city pub and a Charlton fan was arrested.

For more on this story see tonight's Daily Echo