In 'Operation Red Card', police in Hertfordshire, north of London, sent a simple message to defendants who have been failing to turn up in court: surrender now or spend the World Cup in a police cell with no television, according to the Evening Standard newspaper.

"One man even turned up to court with his bag packed, expecting a short spell in prison," it quoted Hertfordshire's Sergeant Nigel Eastaugh as saying.

"No doubt he wanted to get his sentence over and done with to make sure he would be free again in time for the World Cup," he added.

The paper said the 296 letters sent to offenders' last known addresses had resulted in 17 people walking into local police stations to face charges such as assault and theft, while 10 had turned up for court hearings.

But criminals who are not soccer fans are not safe. Eastaugh said that as a result of the mailing, police had received 60 tip-offs on the whereabouts of other offenders who would be rounded up in the coming weeks.

(Agencies)