Spring 2002

It is Spring 2002, with local elections looming. A mosque is being built on the site where Cinderheath's iconic steelworks once dominated the town.

"The Tipton Three", from just down the road, are imprisoned in Guantanamo; the BNP expect to win new seats on the council.

St. George's flags fly from cars and windows: the World Cup is beginning, England to play Argentina.

But first, a controversial Sunday-league football game must take place, billed by the press as "a match to spark a race war".