YORK'S police chief has made a floral gesture of apology to the woman whose family were left terrified after officers raided their house by mistake.

Chief Superintendent John Lacy, area commander for York and Selby, brought a bouquet of flowers to Tracie Sampson's house in Thomas Andrew Mews, Chapelfields, after eight officers raided it in error last week.

A senior police officer told the Evening Press they were looking for someone in connection with a "fraud-related offence".

He blamed the lack of street signs in the area for the mistake.

Tracie, 38, said she repeatedly told the officers they had come to the wrong house. As they left, she said she asked one of the officers whether she could expect a written apology, but was told she could not.

Tracie's son, Liam, answered the door to Mr Lacy, as she was not in at the time.

But although Tracie acknowledged the flowers were "lovely", she said the gesture was "really nice - but too little, too late".

She said: "All I wanted was an explanation.

"If they had been nice to me, or come back straight after it happened, or asked how I was, or how the kids were, that would have been fine."

Tracie has made a formal complaint to North Yorkshire Police and is now seeing a solicitor.

A street sign has now been put up in Tracie's street.

Mr Lacy said he had written to Tracie apologising "unreservedly" for the incident.

He said: "We totally got it wrong and entered the wrong address.

"The flowers are my way of saying sorry for all the trauma we caused her - that's why I immediately took them round."

But he added: "I fully understand she may pursue damages."

Updated: 10:45 Wednesday, February 04, 2004