CUMBRIAN football fans have spoken of terrifying moments as they were hit with tear gas as violence erupted on the streets around them.

Chris Moore, 29, had travelled to Marseille with friend Nick Brown to watch the opening England match against Russia.

He said that he was looking down on the stand within the Stade Velodrome, in which violence erupted at the final whistle.

“The Russian fans were trying to set off flares while the game was going on, and throwing things at [England goalkeeper] Joe Hart,” Chris, from Carlisle recalled. “As soon as they scored the atmosphere seemed to change and when the final whistle went they just started running at the England fans.

“Children were trying to jump over fences to get out, people were running down into the stadium but the Russians were stopping them, trying to punch them.

“People were climbing fences, afraid of being crushed. It was chaos: I’ve never seen anything like it.”

And, Chris says, the violent scenes inside were just an extension of what he and Nick had been witnessing since their arrival on Friday.

The pair have spent much of their time in the Vieux Port area of Marseille, where there are lines of bars.

“I imagine the England fans are getting bad press,” said Chris. “But all we’re doing is singing.

“There are a couple of lanes on the street and every now and again the Marseille fans come out throwing bottles and things.

“I got hit with tear gas on Saturday after it had kicked off at a bar a couple of doors down.

“We walked outside and as we came out the police dropped tear gas, and the wind caught it and blew it all towards us. As we tried to get back in the pub they locked the doors and wouldn’t let us in.”

Chris continued: “As soon as you’ve got an England shirt on – or your own team – you get targeted.

“The police don’t seem to arrest anyone: they just drop the tear gas, break it up and move on until it happens again. The first night was absolutely manic: I saw tear gas go off three times in half an hour.

“It’s carnage: when there are tables and chairs flying around and you nearly get hit with bottles it can be terrifying.”

Chris and Nick are due to return home to Carlisle today, and say they are not the only Cumbrians out there.

Fellow England supporter Jordan Walker, from Whitehaven, had jumped on the Eurostar to head to France to watch the game – but says his experience means he will not be attending the World Cup in Russia.

He said: “I know some England fans can misbehave, but we are not to blame for any of what happened.

“The Russians had clearly planned everything: they turned up from almost every side street with gumshields in, hitting people with bottles, knives and other weapons.

“They weren’t bothered how old you were, if you were English you were getting hit. They were putting lads on the floor and jumping on their heads.

“They looked like they’d have been happy killing somebody.”

And while the most violent attack happened in the bars, Jordan claims that the violence outside the Stade Velodrome after the full-time whistle on Saturday could have been equally as bad.

“England fans fled to what the police told us was the entrance,” he recalled. “But they closed the gates and tear gassed us. There were several children gassed.

“In my opinion, the French police played a major part in all of this. They were heavy-handed earlier in the day, tear gassing England fans who were happily having a beer and singing, but when the Russians turned up they were nowhere to be seen.”

Jordan, 26, added: “You’d have to have a screw loose to consider going to the World Cup in Russia in 2018 – and you couldn’t pay me all the money in the world to ever visit Marseille again.”