POLICE today revealed why they do not want to see a Northern Proms concert staged in York during Royal Ascot.

Superintendent Alison Higgins said it was not realistic to expect police to manage as many as 56,000 people flooding to York Racecourse - then deal with potentially 8,500 more at a musical event on the other side of the city.

The operations commander for York central warned of gridlock if the Proms event went ahead.

She added: "It could bring the city to a complete standstill."

Supt Higgins was outlining the reasons why police have objected to a Proms concert for June 15 at York City's KitKat Crescent.

Top acts like X Factor runners-up G4 and Welsh songstress Katherine Jenkins - hailed as the new Charlotte Church - had been pencilled in to perform.

Supt Higgins said the main reason for objecting was on traffic management grounds.

With an estimated 56,000 people coming to Ascot, she said she did not think it was "feasible" to back plans for a major musical event across York.

She said only a small proportion of racegoers would also attend the evening musical and firework showcase, leaving the rest of the crowd to come in from all over the Yorkshire area, as 56,000 punters try to leave the city.

She also said the event would have a negative impact on residents, and pointed to parking being insufficient for York City FC matches, which attract lower crowds than the Proms would pull in.

Major jams would also impact on the emergency services, Supt Higgins added.

Council chiefs are currently fine-tuning a traffic masterplan they hope will ensure York does not crawl to a halt during the five-day racing festival.

North Yorkshire businessman Don Robinson, the Scarborough-based leisure entrepreneur whose companies were planning to fund the £100,000-plus extravaganza, said he hoped to talk plans through with police soon.

He was shocked when he heard about the objection, and added: "We've got a tremendous bill together and I hope we can talk through the plans.

"I'm still hopeful, but there's no way we want to offend anybody. If it's got to be cancelled, it's got to be cancelled."

Updated: 10:09 Wednesday, February 23, 2005