Specially trained officers were out talking to members of the public as part of Project Servator or 'unpredictable policing' which launched in North Yorkshire five years ago.

The force spoke to people at Vangarde shopping park and Monk's Cross on the outskirts of the city.

A police spokesman said: "Over the last few days our specially trained Project Servator officers have been deployed at Vangarde and Monk's Cross.

"We deploy in any weather but along with many people we’ve met, we’ve been particularly enjoying the glorious sunshine.

"Thank you to everyone who took the time to speak to our officers about our work and how you can help us.

"Our key message is that everyone has an important role to play by reporting anything that doesn’t look or feel right.

"You’ll never get into trouble for reporting a genuine concern and we’ll always take your report seriously.

"If you see something suspicious, please tell a police officer or call 101. There is also an online form to tell us about possible terrorist activity (link in the comments) or you can call the confidential Anti Terrorist Hotline on 0800 789 321. If it's an emergency, always dial 999."

Police say the scheme is a mix of "unpredictable and highly visible" deployments, plain clothes work, and work with businesses, community organisations and the public, and the scheme has since been adopted by other forces around the country.

Deployments can pop up anywhere, any time, in any weather, and include highly visible policing supported by a range of resources that can include CCTV, armed police officers, police dogs, automatic number plate recognition, mounted police, plain clothed officers and air support - including drones.