TEN men from Bolton have pleaded guilty to violent disorder after a man was left fighting for his life following a derby clash between Wanderers and Manchester United.

Steven Povah, aged 47, from Bolton, was attacked by a gang of Wanderers fans after the Reebok Stadium match as he was standing on the platform with two friends at Chorley railway station on February 22 last year.

Mr Povah, who supports United, suffered serious head injuries and was taken to hospital where he was in a coma for several days. He was not released for two-and-a-half months.

His friends, Peter Smith and Anthony Penn, who were also from Bolton, were also admitted to hospital following the incident.

The attack was captured on CCTV film and British Transport Police made several appeals for information through the Bolton Evening News.

Officers even went to America to use the FBI's advanced image-enhancing software of the video footage in their bid to catch the attackers.

The 10 pleaded guilty at Preston Crown Court this week. They are: Anthony Bollard, aged 47, of Turnmoor Road; Ronald Brickles, aged 30, of Weymouth Street; Paul Kirkwood, aged 42, of High Avenue; John Bennet, aged 36, of Regents Walk; Anthony Charnock, aged 31, of Roundway; Gerrard Gallagher, aged 37, of Crompton Avenue; David Hough, aged 36, of Crompton Avenue; Timothy Hodge, aged 48, of Bury Road; John Norris, aged 40, of Bury Road, and Malcolm Cooling, aged 42, of Tarbet Drive, all Bolton.

Det Chief Insp Alistair Cummings, of British Transport Police, said: "This was a long and complex investigation, not least because it involved officers trawling through hours and hours of CCTV footage.

"What started as banter on a railway platform escalated out of control. It was a moment of madness by 10 respectable working men who were fuelled by alcohol."

The 10 men were remanded on bail on condition that they co-operated with the Probation Service in the preparation of pre-sentence reports. The case was adjourned for at least six weeks while the reports are made.