POLICE chiefs have banned all leave for the duration of England's World Cup campaign.

The strict policy meant one officer was even denied a day off to be best man at a colleague's wedding. It was only granted after the frantic officer had to approach his union and go to an official appeal.

Mark Botham, chairman of the North Yorkshire Police Federation, blasted the force's World Cup strategy and labelled the leave restriction "excessive".

But a police spokesman said officers had been given plenty of notice, eight weeks in total, stressing that serving the public must come first.

It also emerged special mobile police units will be on standby during England games, ready to pounce on troublemakers.

Council noise squads will also patrol the city to deal with rowdy World Cup house parties.

"There is no specific intelligence to say that there will be a huge amount of trouble," Mr Botham said.

"It seems a great shame that an event that comes round every four years still can't be planned for.

"Officers accept that they work unsociable hours, but what they can't accept is that the dates of the England games have been known well in advance but everything has still been left to the last minute.

"They were entitled to know when they were working at least three months in advance."

North Yorkshire Police spokesman Tony Lidgate said officers were told their shift patterns at least eight weeks ago. They will not be granted leave during England matches unless there are very special circumstances or holidays have been booked well in advance.

"As has been the custom since the force was created in 1974, extra cover is required for special events," he said.

"In this case a lot of notice was given.

"Our priority is to serve the public and that should not be forgotten."

Referring to the officer who was initially denied leave to attend the wedding, Mr Lidgate added: "When an order of this sort is promulgated, it's always open to individuals to put forward a good reason why they should be exempt and excused. In this case the system has worked as it should."

Meanwhile, fans watching the action at home risk having their parties gate-crashed and their televisions confiscated if they make too much noise.

Council officers will patrol the city throughout the tournament to respond to complaints of disruptive behaviour.

A City of York Council spokeswoman said: "Our noise patrol service will be carrying out patrols as usual during the World Cup. If we have any cause for concern, we can arrange for officers to attend specific events and gatherings, and, where appropriate or necessary, can also serve a notice in advance of an event to ensure that noise is kept to an acceptable level.

"We measure noise by sending our officers, who are all very experienced in making such judgements, to visit a location where there is thought to be a problem. They then put themselves in the shoes of those likely to be affected by it and determine whether sounds levels are exceeding an acceptable level."

Officers can give warnings to offenders. If the noise continues, they can then issue fixed penalty notices and even seize any equipment generating the noise, including TVs or stereos. If the noise still continues, offenders can be prosecuted.

A police spokesman added: "Our message is remember the neighbours. Celebrate, commiserate, but don't irritate."

Darren Sholl, director of York's biggest door security firm, F1 Security, said their doormen would "double up" outside pubs in case of trouble during England matches.

"We're expecting it to be good-natured, but our guys are well trained to deal with any trouble," he said.


  • WHAT was York like for you in 1966? Have you any memories of the World Cup, events or fashions of 1966 that you'd like to share?

Phone Charlotte Percival on 01904 653051 ext 337, or email charlotte.percival@ycp.co.uk