The case of a Norwich City fan who was arrested at the Canaries' successful Championship play-off final win at Wembley for holding a flare will face no further action after the case was discontinued.

Marc Howard, 25, was due to go on trial at Brent Magistrates' Court after pleading not guilty to throwing or casting a firework in a public place, namely outside the country's national stadium on May 25.

But the case will not proceed after a decision was made to discontinue the case against Mr Howard.

Mr Howard, of Briar Court, Guardian Road, Norwich, had already appeared at a previous hearing at Hendon Magistrates' Court which heard he was handed the flare by another man and it was lit when in his possession, although he denied throwing it.

A spokesman for the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) today confirmed the case against Mr Howard had been dropped.

He said: 'The police took the decision to charge this individual with an offence under section 80 of the Explosives Act 1875. Following the submission of a not guilty plea at the first court hearing, the CPS carried out a full review under the Code For Crown Prosecutors, which is in line with our procedures. In order to proceed with the case we would need to prove that the item was 'thrown, cast or fired' in a public place. Following the review of available evidence it was decided that there was insufficient evidence to show that the individual had thrown the item or otherwise done anything that would amount to an offence under section 80. The case was therefore discontinued.'