A BRADFORD City supporter had avoided being banned from watching his team in action despite committing four crimes immediately before their game at Carlisle’s Brunton Park last month.

Daniel Dockray, 22, found himself in a court dock for the first time after travelling to watch Bradford take on Carlisle United in a League 2 play-off semi-final second leg which the Cumbrians won to book a place at Wembley.

Dockray had been drinking with friends before heading to the ground where he then found himself in hot water on Warwick Road on May 20.

“Police officers saw there were a number of Bradford supporters coming past the club shop,” Peter Bardsley, prosecuting. “The defendant (Dockray) came to the attention of police I think because he had taken some sunglasses off a Carlisle United supporter and then dropped them.”

As police approached and took hold of Dockray, he tensed his body and started to flail his arms around. “An officer had to deliver three knee strikes to stop him doing what he was doing,” said Mr Bardsley.

He resisted the PC before handcuffs were applied. “The officers says he believed he was drunk bearing in mind his demeanour,” added the prosecutor.

Two wraps of cocaine were found in Dockray’s possession along with a pyrotechnic which he later said he had been carrying for someone else.

In interview he spoke of arriving in Carlisle at around 12-30pm before having six pints although he “didn’t think he was overly drunk”.

A man without any previous convictions, Dockray admitted four charges in court: being drunk and disorderly, possession of a firework while trying to enter a sports ground, possessing cocaine and resisting a PC.

Defence lawyer Andrew Gurney said there had been “high jinx and high spirits” before the high profile game, which had drawn a number 15,401-strong crowd.

However, Dockray had been arrested and missed the match. The pyrotechnic he had on behalf of someone else was to have been lit if Bradford had won the game.

“It is something he is truly remorseful for,” said Mr Gurney of Dockray, who worked for a removal company. “He has been going to football for many, many years now. There have been no previous issues.”

A football banning order was sought by the prosecution. This could have seen Dockray banned from attending Bradford City home and away games for at least three years, prohibited from entering exclusion zones around football stadiums on match days and ordered to report to a police station.

Magistrates were informed by their legal advisor that they had to be satisfied there were reasonable grounds to believe that making an order would prevent future violence or disorder at football fixtures.

But after retiring to consider their sentence, the Bench opted not to impose an order, concluding that Dockray, of Bridge Road, Brighouse, would not pose such a risk.

He was fined £500 and ordered to pay costs.