THE man leading the police operation at next week's Open championship has said plans are in place to deal with any protest disruption should it occur.
More than 260,000 people are expected to visit Hoylake for the tournament, taking place at Royal Liverpool from July 16-23.
Its organisers recently admitted it would be "challenging" to prevent protesters from disrupting the proceedings, but expressed confidence in "robust" security arrangements
Recent protests included a man wearing a 'Just Stop Oil' T-shirt interrupting the World Snooker Championship match between Robert Milkins and Joe Perry by jumping onto one of the tables and tipping orange powder over the cloth.
A woman was also prevented from executing a similar stunt on the other table after being tackled by referee Olivier Marteel.
Chief Superintendent Mark Wiggins, silver commander for the event, said a "robust" policing plan was in place to ensure the tournament week is 'safe and enjoyable' and deal with any incidents, protests and otherwise.
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The plan has been worked out in partnership with organisers, The R&A, Wirral Council and.
During a press briefing Merseyside Police HQ in Liverpool Chf Supt Mark Wiggins, told the Globe: "People have the right to protest and we recognise that - it's part of our democratic society in England and Wales.
"But we have to measure what that action that they take s and whether it steps over the bounds of what is lawful and what isn't.
"We have got officers who are supporting the event that will be able to take action should a protest group step over the bounds of the law.
"We make assessments with specially-trained staff as to what is going on and what action we may or may not need to take."
Outlining the other security measures in place for spectators Chief Supt Mark Wiggins, continued: "My message for those attending the event is 'enjoy the weekend.
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"It's a great event that brings hundreds of thousands of people and really puts Hoylake, Wirral and Merseyside on the map, which is what we want to see.
"We need to make sure that when people arrive, they do so in plenty of time as there will be bag searches and a search machine when people get in, conducted by Group 4 security on behalf of the organisers, Royal & Ancient, so people need to make sure they give themselves that time to ensure they don't miss any particular golf that they want to see.
"It's also to ensure that when they do arrive, there are bars there. I want to ensure that they can enjoy themselves, have a drink while there, but don't drink to excess and spoil it for themselves and other people.
"The other thing I would say is that it is a crowded place and we will have specialist officers looking for people in the crowd who may well have criminal intentions.
"I would also ask the crowd that if they see anything they're not happy and something that might well be suspicious to report it to us and will take action."
Looking ahead to The Open, Chief Supt Mark Wiggins ended: "It's a really good event to be a part of. It's a Royal & Ancient event supported by Wirral Council and the golf club, but we are one of the key partners in that with the other emergency services.
"We just want to support the event organisers to make sure they can put on a safe and secure event and put Wirral on the map.
"Anything we can do to support that is really important."
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