At least one England football fan has been arrested and another is being treated in hospital after French police used teargas and batons to break up a fight with 70 locals in Marseille ahead of the first games in Euro 2016.

One supporter sustained a head injury in the brawl after being hit across the face with a wooden chair.

The fight broke out after 70 locals confronted England fans outside a pub in the southern port city at around midnight on Thursday, according to the National Police Chiefs Council (NPCC), which has been working with the French authorities to police English fans.

French police in riot gear and accompanied by dogs fired teargas and used batons to break up the brawl. Police said one of the fans was arrested for assaulting a barman and another for violent disorder. The NPCC, however, said only one England fan had been arrested.

Geoff Pearson, an expert on football hooliganism at the University of Manchester who witnessed the incident, said heavy-handed police tactics were “totally disproportionate” and contributed to the violence.