In the late 1960s – in response to football hooliganism at matches in England – police began confiscating any objects that could be used as weapons.

These items included steel combs, pens, beermats, horse brasses, Polo mints, shoelaces and boots.

[2] The book Spirit of '69: A Skinhead Bible describes the use of Millwall bricks by British football hooligans in the late 1960s: "Newspapers were rolled up tightly to form the so-called Millwall Brick and another trick was to make a knuckleduster out of pennies held in place by a wrapped around paper.

"[2] In 1978 the weapon gained wider recognition when the Daily Mirror ran a story on its use by Chelsea FC hooligans in the then notorious Shed End of Stamford Bridge.

An editorial in a 1978 Brentford FC matchday programme, bemoaning the impact of football hooliganism on the game, noted that Stoke City FC "had banned young supporters carrying newspapers into the Victoria Ground after fighting on the terraces during which the Millwall Brick was seen in action".