A MAN was taken to hospital after jumping into the Ouse during a busy York raceday evening for police.

Officers said David Garret, from Pocklington, jumped in the river opposite the Moat House Hotel just before 10pm yesterday.

He drifted downstream until being pulled out on the Queen's Staith sandbank just below Ouse Bridge.

An ambulance was called and he was taken to York District Hospital, where a spokeswoman said today he had declined to be treated.

Sergeant Colin Ventress of York police said today the man's actions had been "extremely dangerous." He said: "People who do this not only put their own lives in danger but also put other people at risk."

Sgt Ventress said police had attended a number of incidents during the evening, as crowds of racegoers thronged the streets after the last day of the popular Ebor meeting.

The incidents included one involving a large crowd outside Casa bar near Ouse Bridge, where a number of arrests were made.

But he said a high-profile policing operation had kept the situation generally under control, and he was not aware of any major incident.

The race meeting attracted a crowd of 27,361 people, up by 170 on last year. The total attendance over the three days was 78,465, two per cent down on last year's post-war record.

Updated: 11:29 Friday, August 23, 2002