IT was a time fraught with division and argument - and a day many Brexiteers in York will never forget.

May 2016 - just weeks before the Brexit referendum - and Boris Johnson, then just an MP but with big ambitions to be Prime Minister - rolled into York aboard the red Brexit battlebus, promising £350m a week for the NHS if Brits voted to leave the EU.

As Boris Johnson leaves the office of Prime Minister, our archive photos take us back to that day, six years ago, when the former Mayor of London was surrounded by supporters - several waving 'Vote Leave' placards - and gave a rousing rally to the crowd from outside the bus which was parked in Parliament Street.

As our photos show, you can clearly see the big promise at the heart of the campaign which was emblazoned in white letters across the sides of the battlebus: "We send the EU £350m a week - let's find our NHS instead".

York Press: Brexit claims across the battlebus ahead of the referendum in 2016Brexit claims across the battlebus ahead of the referendum in 2016

During the visit, Boris Johnson claimed that York’s tourism and confectionery industry would prosper if Britain left the EU.

He was greeted largely by supporters - The Press recorded that there was one solo heckler.

On that day, Boris told the crowd: “We have got one month to go, folks, until we take back democracy and take back control of our country.”

Earlier, York Labour Party member Helen Webster had angrily challenged the claim on the side of the battlebus that leaving the EU would mean more money for the NHS.

She told Boris the slogan was a “lie” and claimed was only leading the Brexit campaign because he wanted the job of Prime Minister

Later, Boris addressed a crowd of hundreds in a rally at York Racecourse.

Outside a group of protesters, some dressed as bananas, parked what they called a "Truth Truck" countering Brexit claims.

York Press: Boris chats to people in York during his Brexit campaign visit in May 2016Boris chats to people in York during his Brexit campaign visit in May 2016

Speaking to The Press during the visit, Boris said leaving would be "terrific" for the city’s tourism, which currently generates more than £600 million a year for the city’s economy and supports 20,000 jobs.

Meanwhile, that week, a Treasury report had warned that house prices could plummet by £21,000 and unemployment soar across the region if the UK voted to leave the EU. A vote for leave in the referendum on June 23 could also cause unemployment to rise by 43,000 across Yorkshire and the Humber, the Britain Stronger in Europe campaign said.

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