A football mug was confiscated from a Gillingham fan at a game, in case he used it as a weapon.

The offending item, bought in the club shop just moments before, was taken from 59-year-old Paul Caister as he arrived at the Gillingham v Chesterfield match with his 11-year-old son Cal.

The pair had been into the Gills megastore before kick-off to buy gifts including the mug and two teddy bears.

But when season ticket holder Mr Caister arrived at the turnstiles for the Medway stand, his carrier bag was searched by a steward and he was told he could not take the mug into the ground.

“I appreciate that there are rules but are stewards ever advised to use their judgement and common sense?" - Paul Caister

He said: “She told me it was on a list of prohibited items and pointed to a list on the wall. I didn’t bother to check the list or argue.

“I appreciate that there are rules but are stewards ever advised to use their judgement and common sense?

The mug had clearly just been bought in the club shop and was still in its plastic wrapping.

“I don’t know how the mug in question could have been put to nefarious use by myself while in the ground, but I am nearly 60 and a person less likely to provoke an outbreak of hooliganism could hardly be imagined.”

According to the club rules on the Gillingham FC website, the following items must not be brought into the ground: knives, fireworks, smoke canisters, airhorns, flares, weapons, dangerous or hazardous items, laser devices, bottles, glass vessels, cans or poles.

Mr Caister, who has been going to games since his father took him to his first match, aged five, said: “There is never any trouble at the ground, certainly not in the Medway stand where we sit. The stewards should be told to use their discretion.”

The drama teacher, who runs his own performing arts school in London added: “Perhaps you should be told at the tills in the shop that you cannot take mugs into the ground.”

In the end, the fan left the ground without the mug, having forgotten to reclaim it in his disappointment at the result. Gills lost 3-2.

No one from the club was available to comment.