As York Police began their clampdown on pre-Christmas drunken disorder, NADIA JEFFERSON-BROWN joined officers on the city's streets.

LATE-NIGHT revellers, teetering towards the brink of their senses, were warned off creating any booze-fuelled trouble when police officers crossed into their hazy line of vision.

The boys in blue were out in force last night to mark the start of Operation Caster, which aims to quench anyone's thirst for antisocial behaviour or violence leading up to Christmas.

The Evening Press joined PC Daz Sheriston and Special Constable Stephen Mitchell as they patrolled York city centre. They were among ten officers who took to the streets before being joined by another five pairs of PCs from 10pm.

It was early when we set off in the police van, but the drinking "hot spots" were filling up, with eager punters queuing outside places like The Nag's Head on Micklegate, as well as Reflex further along.

"Flashpoints are at taxi ranks and the food outlets with people pushing in the queue," said PC Sheriston.

Stag and hen parties also brought their share of trouble, he added.

"If people see patrols it has a calming effect, because they don't want to spend the night in the cells. The trouble spots are around the city centre, but we get a lot of domestics later on and things like that.

"I have been doing this job for 14-and-a-half years in York and I would say it is no worse now than at any time I have been here.

"The Micklegate run isn't as bad as it used to be, because a lot of new pubs are opening elsewhere, and other pubs have been done up so people are trying those. The worst nights are when England football is on - you never get any trouble with the rugby.

"We always give people a warning if it is drunken behaviour, but if they carry on they will be arrested for public order offences. If they are fighting they get arrested straight away."

Sergeant Martin Metcalfe said today that ten arrests were made during the evening for violence and public order as a result of the operation.

He said: "Ten arrests is quieter than a normal Friday and Saturday, so we are getting the message out, but there's still room for improvement."

PC Sheriston spent much of his time warning numerous cyclists about the police "zero tolerance" approach to bikes without lights. One young male cyclist also received a stern telling-off for cycling against the traffic on a one-way street, without lights, while talking on his mobile phone.

At 8.30pm, we escorted home two young boys, aged eight and 11, after finding them in Coney Street without their parents' knowledge. They had caught the bus into the city centre from Clifton.

The younger one burst into tears when told they would be taken home, crying: "I don't want my mum to know."

"This is a new one for us. I want to know if their mums know where they were and that they were by themselves," said PC Sheriston - shortly after using the vehicle's loud speaker to tell yet another cyclist without lights to get off her bike.

Updated: 09:20 Saturday, November 27, 2004