Operation Reclaim: Officers make some significant arrests as public enjoy England's World Cup win

Officers were also celebrating some good results off the pitch in Nottingham city centre last night as football fans enjoyed England's win against Croatia.

Uniformed and plain-clothed patrols were out in force engaging with members of the public and ensuring they are kept safe.

And while Nottingham's venues were packed with fans enjoying the game, our officers managed to make a number of significant arrests.

These included attending the Joseph Else pub, just off Old Market Square, where they were informed of a man seen with a knife at around 6.44pm.

Officers followed the man into the pub toilet where he attempted to evade arrest.

This included dropping the knife down the toilet and then attempting to urinate.

But officers knew his game, which resulted in a kitchen knife being  seized and a 38-year-old man spending the rest of his evening in custody.

He was arrested on suspicion of carrying a bladed article in a public place and now is under strict conditions while officers are awaiting a charging decision. 

Officers also stopped a 35-year-old woman in St James's Street just before 3am following an altercation inside a venue.

When stopped by officers, she pulled a kitchen knife out of her handbag and waved it in one of the officer's faces.

She was arrested on suspicion of carrying a bladed article in a public place and common assault and spent the rest of the morning in custody.

Officers also arrested a 27-year-old man in Long Row after he was caught shouting racist abuse at staff working in the area.

He also found himself spending the evening in custody and arrested on suspicion of racially, religiously aggravated harassment, alarm and distress.

This is all part of Operation Reclaim, a partnership approach to tackling the major problems affecting the city centre including weapon-carrying, public disorder and anti-social behaviour.

Sergeant Jono Pothecary, who was involved in the city centre operation, said:

"It was fantastic to see so many people out in the city last night enjoying the football.

"It was a brilliant atmosphere with no issues related to the game.

"But while the public were enjoying the football, as you would expect, we were working hard behind the scenes to keep you safe. 

"Operation Reclaim is a zero-tolerance approach to anyone who comes into the city to cause problems, as well as preventing these problems before they escalate.

"This was the case last night, with two people who thought they could enter the city in possession of a knife.

"We hope a night in custody has made them think twice about their actions as we work towards a charge and putting them before the courts.

"Arrests and charges are certainly not the only tools at our disposal. We can make life incredibly difficult for those wishing to cause problems in our city.

"We aren't afraid to use powers like community protection notices, which can ban people from all the facilities the city has to offer if they fail to change their appalling behaviour."