AMERICAN tourists visiting York wept on the streets of the city as they learned of the tragic news.

Dozens of people in Parliament Street huddled round shop televisions as the drama in New York and Washington unfolded.

"Our Government should napalm whoever was responsible for this," said outraged tourist Michael O'Brien, who lives six miles from the stricken Pentagon building in Washington.

"We're supposed to be going home on Friday but that looks unlikely now I can't believe it."

Jack Hughes, from Arizona, who was one of 40 Americans staying at the Jarvis International Hotel, near Skelton, was visibly stunned after being told of the tragedy.

He said: "You can't be serious?

"I think we should hit back at whoever did this to our country."

William Finn, also from Arizona, learned of the atrocity while in his room at the Dean Court Hotel, in High Petergate.

He said: "It's like something from a Tom Clancy novel."

James Landis, from Texas, was visibly shaken when he spoke to the Evening Press at York Station.

"I can't believe this," he said.

"How, how, how could this happen? I must say that someone is going to get their ass kicked when we find out what went on.

"This is terrible."

Ian and Shirley Goldberg from Cincinnati, were at the National Railway Museum as part of a two-week trip.

"I just want to get back now," said Ian.

"I have a cousin who works in the financial centre in New York. How am I going to find out if he is okay.

"This is an absolute outrage."

Shirley added that she thought "something terrible" would now happen when the Americans retaliated.

"They have altered our skyline and that will not be easily forgotten," she said.

At York Minster, American tourists were equally stunned..

Retired couple John and Ellen Eddy, live just across the Hudson from stricken Manhattan, in New Jersey.

They were astonished to discover the United States had been attacked. John said: "We have only just flown in from Newark (New Jersey).

"I am just stunned. A lot of people must have lost their lives, it's terrible."

Ellen added: "The city will still have been geared up as Labour Day has only just passed.

"It's horrifying for us because we live close to Manhattan. We have friends who live in the city. It's just terrible."

Texan Rick Perez, 37, said he couldn't believe the tragedy had happened. "It just seems impossible and unbelievable with the military we have in America.

"I am so shocked. We are usually the peacekeepers in this kind of situation and haven't retaliated before.

"I will be contacting my dad when I can to find out what has been happening there."

Rick's mother Elva added: "This whole tragedy is like a huge nightmare. It almost seems like fantasy.

"It's even more incredible when you consider the kind of security in the United States. This sort of thing just doesn't happen."

And Canadian visitor Peter Green, 62, of Ottawa, said his daughter had only recently moved away from Washington before yesterday's outrage.

"This is hard to take in. Both my children are American and my daughter only moved away from Washington to Canada a couple of months ago," he said.

"Those near the World Trade Centre can have had no escape when the buildings collapsed. This is a terrible thing to happen."

Updated: 08:42 Wednesday, September 12, 2001