ARRIVING in York on the Park&Ride on Saturday afternoon, we realised something was afoot with large numbers of police.

Alighting at the library, the plan was to walk over Lendal Bridge, but as we stepped off the bus we were met with a barrage of shouts from a line of police that we were going nowhere.

No explanations. No requests for co-operation. Just shouted orders.

We were left milling around, wondering what to do and when it would be over, when we heard chanting from football louts and saw other police herding them from Lendal Cellars towards the railway station. It all looked very efficient and well done to the police for controlling so many. However, the officer in the cycling helmet continued to hurl orders at all the fresh people arriving until the hooligans were well out of site.

Can I remind the police authorities that we are no longer in the 1970s/1980s where they can browbeat the public at large. Times have moved on. York is a tourist city and what must all the hapless tourists have thought at being shouted at so indignantly.

Bob Redwood, Askham Bryan, York.