POLICE have failed in their bid to ban a teenager from attending football matches after he brought a flare to a Bury game.

The 17-year-old, who cannot be named for legal reasons, is an Oldham Athletic supporter who was stopped by officers close to the entrance of Gigg Lane before his team played Bury on August 29.

Officers found a flare and the boy was charged with possession of a firework during the period of a designated sporting event.

He appeared at Bury Youth Court last week and, after admitting the offence, was given a 12-month conditional discharge and ordered to pay £95 court costs.

A police application for a football banning order was rejected because the boy did not bring the flare into the ground and did not use it as a weapon.