lyon violence
A man is seen lying on the ground as England fans clash with suspected local French 'Ultras' in Lyon Twitter/jeromegenty

England football fans have been involved in fresh violence in France after footage appeared to show them being attacked by a group of local 'Ultra' hooligans dressed in black. Witnesses said a 30-strong mob hurled chairs and bottles at a group of about 100 England supporters who had been drinking in Lyon on Sunday evening (19 June), ahead of their team's final Euro 2016 group match in nearby St Etienne against Slovakia.

The footage showed the two groups in a standoff in a narrow pedestrian street, with at least one fan lying on the ground apparently beaten unconscious.

Another clip of the same clash saw a different supporter, thought to be French, being repeatedly punched in the face by a small group of men, before his attackers were dragged off.

One witness claimed the England fans were attacked by a notorious far-right Olympique Lyonnais hooligan firm known as the Bad Gones.

"They are local boys from Lyon − they call themselves the Bad Gones," said a barman at the Wallace pub, which was forced to close after the trouble. "They are hooligans who follow Olympique Lyon."

England supporter Andy Johnson, 52, said: "They came here intent on causing trouble. We were just having a beer and singing a song, then they turned up.

"The police were nowhere to be seen. It was obvious what was about to happen. I was worried they were going to ambush us down the backstreets, but fortunately they cleared off pretty quick.

"I'm really angry we are constantly being targeted and the police aren't protecting us."

Police were later pictured at the scene of the disorder.

It's just the latest violence to hit the Euro 2016 tournament, with unrest erupting both within stadiums and out on the streets of host cities.

Last week, dozens were arrested and 16 taken to hospital after clashes involving England fans, French locals and Russian Ultras erupted in Lille.

The week before had seen Marseille suffer three days of violence after French police said a mob of about 150 highly organised Russian Ultras repeatedly attacked England fans, with French locals also involved.

Supporters from several other countries have been involved in violence during the tournament. This includes Hungary, whose fans clashed with police inside the Stade Velodrome stadium in Marseille during their team's match with Iceland on Saturday (18 June).

The incident occurred less than 24 hours after Croatia and the Czech's Republic's game in St Etienne was halted because of crowd disturbance. On that occasion, Croatian fans were seen fighting among themselves, while a number of flares were also thrown on to the pitch.

France's interior minister said 557 "violent supporters" have been arrested so far during the tournament, with 344 held by police.

Bernard Cazeneuve told Associated Press some had been already been convicted and given "very firm prison sentences". The French government said 21 fans had been sent to jail and another six given suspended prison sentences. A further 25 supporters had been deported.

Bars in St Etienne have been trying to create a carnival-like atmosphere for England and Slovakia fans to prevent a repeat of the violence, with videos posted on social media showing large groups of England fans enjoying the festivities peacefully.