BARS and pubs in Huddersfield are gearing up for a bumper summer as soccer fans flock to watch England's bid for Euro 2004 glory.

The battle of the bars has already begun in the town, with each bar hoping to cram hundreds of fans in for England's games in the European championships.

And the opening games kick off at prime times for the bars to get people in and drinking.

All England's opening games start in the evening, so the pubs are set to be full as people rush straight from the office to the bar.

Livingstones, in Queensgate, is Huddersfield's newest bar and is hoping to become the first choice for England fans.

General manager Iain McKay said: "Euro 2004 is the biggest event in the football calendar this year. We wanted to make sure the people of Huddersfield had the ideal venue to watch each game."

"Our venue is big and we have a huge screen."

But other town centre pubs and bars are pulling out all the stops to make sure they get a piece of the action.

John Balshaw, manager of The Courthouse in Queen Street, said: "There is some really heavy competition for drinkers between the bars in town for Euro 2004.

"We have always shown loads of football and we will be showing every single Euro 2004 game live on our three giant screens.

"As well as the game we are putting on a brass band to get the atmosphere going. There will be competitions and promotions."

The Varsity, in Zetland Street, will be without a manager for England's first game, which is against France - Liz Brown is going to Portugal to see it live.

She said: "Myself and a few other managers from the company won the tickets as a prize.

"I have never been to a football match before, so I suppose if I am going to go to one it should be a big game.

"We will be showing all the matches and making a big deal for the England games. The manager who was here for the World Cup said Huddersfield goes crazy for football."