THE police launched an investigation yesterday into the violent clashes on Tuesday night which have been described as a “free for all” by Chelsea fans who were viciously attacked by West Ham supporters with coins and chairs.

Blues fans were furious with West Ham for failing to adequately keep them safe both inside and outside the London Stadium following Wednesday night’s 2-1 victory over Chelsea in the League cup.

Away supporters spoke of coins and chairs being hurled at them inside the stadium and how they were attacked when leaving the ground.

Safety procedures at Premier League grounds dictate that away fans are kept behind after the whistle while home fans vacate the area.

However, this was not the case and one Chelsea fan who attended told the Star that there was a group of West Ham fans waiting for them outside the ground.

A witness in and around Stratford tube station, a five minute walk from the London Stadium, told the Star that had police not intervened, a brawl would have erupted between opposing fans.

One member of the public who was in Stratford after the game said: “I was walking from Westfields to Stratford underground station to a backed row of carriages on the Jubilee line.

“The first two carriages were empty with a handful of Chelsea fans in the third with police surrounding the doors.

“With the rest of the carriages packed with West Ham fans, the train driver said it was not leaving soon and to cross over to the opposite platform.

“Once this happened, there was a lot of shouting and abuse from both sets of fans with a couple of West Ham fans going into the carriage full of Chelsea supporters.

“The police intervened and managed to stop anything untoward happening but shouts from the two sets of supporters continued until trains left.”

Steve Cutting, a Chelsea fan who was left bleeding from the head after being struck by a 50p coin, said that trying to get to Stratford station after the final whistle was “ridiculous.”

“Coming out of the stadium was a free for all,” said Cutting.

“To get back to Stratford station was ridiculous. It was running battles again, groups of people fighting and trying to get to each other.

“There’s no real clear proper way to get people back to the station safely.”

Another fan echoed that claim, saying: “From Stratford station to that stadium is unpoliceable.

“It was almost like anarchy last night.”

West Ham also promised to take the “strongest possible action” after flyers with graphic homophobic content were allegedly distributed at the match.

Chelsea captain John Terry was targeted in the flyers, which suggested lewd and homophobic song lyrics be directed towards the former England captain during the London derby.

A West Ham United spokesperson said: “West Ham United are completely and utterly committed to tackling all forms of discrimination in football.

“Working with the Metropolitan Police Service, the club will be investigating the alleged distribution of these flyers and will take the strongest possible action against those responsible.”

Seven arrests were made, the Metropolitan Police said, with the Football Association and other authorities investigating.