ALMOST 250 known football troublemakers across the region yesterday gave up any hopes of travelling to the World Cup finals when they were forced to hand in their passports to police.

As the ten-day countdown to the start of the tournament began, more than 3,000 convicted hooligans nationally had to surrender their travel documents to prevent them travelling to Germany.

In the North-East and North Yorkshire, the 244 fans who are subject to football banning orders had until late last night to hand in their passports or face a possible six-month jail sentence and a £5,000 fine.

The fans will also have to report to their local police station on the morning of each of England's matches to ensure they are complying with the conditions of their ban.

In the region, the Northumbria police force area has the highest number of orders at 114, followed by Cleveland with 99, Durham with 27, and North Yorkshire with four.

In Northumbria, 59 of the 144 people subject to bans are Sunderland fans and 52 support Newcastle.

In the Cleveland area, 23 of the banned fans live in Hartlepool, 37 live in Middlesbrough, 25 in Stockton, and 14 in Langbaugh.

Football banning orders have been hailed as a crucial weapon in fighting football-related disorder, and were introduced after rioting in Belgium during the Euro 2000 championships.

Police forces across the region yesterday said they would take steps to ensure the orders were complied with during the World Cup, and plans were unveiled to monitor the region's airports.

Inspector Chris Reeves, from Durham Police, has been assigned to help crack down on potential disorder, and will monitor Durham Tees Valley Airport. He said: "Our aims are to prevent known troublemakers from attending the World Cup while, at the same time, minimising disruption to other travellers."

A spokeswoman for North-umbria Police said that if anyone did not comply, each situation would be assessed on its own merits.

A Cleveland Police spokes-man said: "Should those individuals fail to comply, they will be visited by police officers and will have to explain either to them or the courts their reasons why."