I WRITE in response to PR Willey's letter ('Don't throw stones,' November 21).

Mr Willey obviously does not live in or work in the centre of York on Saturday when there is a football match that is well-known for trouble.

He obviously has never seen somebody thrown through a plate glass window or seen a rampaging horde of football fans jump on someone's head.

I have, and it is terrifying. How can anybody with an ounce of intelligence think my comment in the Evening Press (November 17) flippant and narrow-minded after what I have witnessed in York during 22 years?

Regarding Mr Willey's other comments about licensees being happy to take supporters hard-earned cash, we are quite happy to take anybody's hard-earned cash if they are prepared to act like human beings and not thugs or louts.

Does Mr Willey not realise the licensees in York look after their own premises 365 days a year, and have co-operated with the police for more than 20 years that I know of?

We do so to make our pubs safe places in which to drink. So we don't need the likes of him trying to get in a cheap shot because he has nothing better to do.

Had Mr Willey been in York city centre that particular Saturday he would have seen the tourists that we in York rely on cowering and frightened by the mindless violent behaviour of a gang of yobs. We want them to come back to York with happy memories, not wondering if they are going to live long enough to finish their visit.

Frank Cartin,

President of York Licensed Victuallers Association,

The Snickleway Inn,

Goodramgate,

York.

Updated: 11:30 Thursday, December 04, 2003