Birmingham City fans topped a league table of shame as Home Office figures revealed police arrested more of them than fans of any other West Midlands club last season.

But police also stressed that very few football fans were arrested, and that the number of arrests across the country was lower than last year.

Home Office figures showed 112 people identified by police as Birmingham City fans were arrested in the 2009-10 season, including 47 arrested at home matches and 65 arrested at away games.

The majority, 76 arrests, were for violent or public disorder.

The number was dramatically up on the 2008-9 season, when there were 69 arrests

Police arrested 89 people identified as Aston Villa supporters, up from 77 in the previous season, and 73 Stoke City fans, down from 118.

There were 65 arrests of Wolverhampton Wanderers fans, up from 61, and 20 of West Bromwich Albion fans, down from 26.

Police arrested 19 Coventry City supporters, down from 36, and three Shrewsbury Town fans, down from 11. They arrested two Walsall fans, down from six.

Nationally, the team with the highest number of arrests was Manchester United. Police arrested 165 Man United fans in 2009-10, down from 185 in the 2008-9 season.

A total of 3,391 English and Welsh fans were arrested at international and domestic games in 2009/10, down 395 from the previous season.

This equates to an average of one arrest per match with no arrests at 70 per cent of games.

But Crime Prevention Minister James Brokenshire said nobody was complacent.

“Police will continue to work with fans and use all the tools at their disposal to ensure that we continue setting a benchmark for the world,” he said.

The figures were welcomed as Prime Minister David Cameron flew to Zurich to lobby Fifa executive committee members ahead of their all-important vote in the Swiss city.

The sport’s global governing body will announce on Thursday who is to host the 2018 tournament, with England facing tough competition from Russia, as well as joint bids by Spain/Portugal and Belgium/Netherlands.