British tabloid The Sun reports that Polish police are prepared to combat hooligans with "sonic cannons," ear-splitting gizmos mounted on trucks that unleash bursts of sound equivalent to a jet engine taking off.

The Long Range Acoustic Device was used against G20 protesters in Pittsburgh in 2009 and the U.S. Navy has also used them in Iraq.

Ex-Special Branch officer David McGirr, 49, said: “If there is violence and the police use this, hooligans are not going to know what has hit them. Nothing like this has ever been used in the UK.”

Kevin Miles, of the Football Supporters Federation, said: “Sadly it’s become a feature of the run-up to every major tournament that host police forces seem to have to boast about some new repressive measure at their disposal.”