Unconfirmed reports suggest a smoke canister has been let off inside the Old Trafford Megastore as large anti-Glazer protests hit the ground.

A mass protest against the club's owners took place before this afternoon's Premier League match between Manchester United and Stoke.

Hundreds of fans congregated outside the directors' box and chanted venomous anti-Glazer songs before being moved on by police. There were reports of at least one smoke canister being let off inside the store at the front of the stadium, and at least one injury was being reported as a result.

Avram Glazer, the joint chairman of Manchester United, had been due to attend but never made the journey due to flying restrictions imposed because of the ash cloud disruption.

The demonstration is the start of an escalation in the anti-Glazer campaign, aimed at driving the Americans out of Old Trafford.

Supporters also took their protests to the skies when a plane carrying the message 'Glazers Out' was due to circle Old Trafford.

The plane has been organised by the Manchester United Supporters' Trust (MUST). A consortium of potential buyers, operating as the Red Knights and led by a former United director, Jim O'Neill, is preparing a takeover bid and a spokesman for MUST said the idea is to "let the Glazers be in no doubt that we want this to be their last match at Old Trafford".

The Glazers have never been welcomed by a minority of supporters, but those feelings have grown markedly as the full scale of the debts incurred in their controversial takeover have become clear.