Roar of the three lions stops play at Lord's

WHEN the news reached Lord's, where England's cricket side were playing India, it literally stopped play. Umpire Dickie Bird had to halt bowler Chris Lewis in his tracks because he feared the roar would upset the batsman.

Before long in Trafalgar Square, that old cocktail of victory and alcohol - all but forgotten until a week ago - was easing the inhibitions of hundreds of fans. They frolicked in various states of undress and clambered about the base of Nelson's Column chanting, "Bring on the Germans."

At Wembley the English score off the field was low: six drunk, one public order, four drugs, seven touts, one man on a warrant for another matter, and a man who ran on to the pitch. A Scotland Yard spokesman said the behaviour of the crowd had been "impeccable" - although a stand-off was developing late last night in Trafalgar Square as up to 1,500 fans threw bottles and cans at police attempting to wind up the celebrations

In faraway Florence the result brought cheer to John Major after a tough European summit. He and his Spanish counterpart, Jose Aznar, had helped push through the last business at top speed so they could watch the game on television. Mr Major said afterwards: "My congratulations to England. They know the whole country is behind them and I wish them good fortune in the semi-finals."