SCORES of members of a Protestant organisation marched through the streets of York, in the first Orange Order parade to be held in the city.

About 150 members of the Order from across the North of England, including a band and groups from Manchester and Newcastle, took part in the march, which started at Clifford’s Tower just after 2pm. Traffic was diverted by police escorts along the route.

Geoff Buxton, grand master of the Order’s Northern Province, and organiser of the York march, said: “I thought it went very well, as well as can be expected.

“It was not a great turnout, as we expected more than 250, but today clashed with parades in Scotland, so a lot of the Scottish were supporting their own.”

Concerns had been raised over the possibility that the march would inspire violence or protests as seen at Orange marches in Northern Ireland cities, particularly Armagh and Belfast, but organisers said the march was never intended to be provocative.

In the end, the march went off peacefully. Hundreds of people stopped along the parade route to watch it go by.

One visitor to the city, who did not wish to be named, stopped near Micklegate to watch the march, and said: “I’m not sure what they represent, but it’s nice to see a march through the city centre, and it obviously means a lot to them. Some have come all the way from Liverpool.”

The Order stands for religious liberty and the British crown, and believes in the words of the Bible, but opposes the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church.

Mr Buxton said: “There was no trouble, everyone enjoyed themselves, and I was genuinely and pleasantly surprised with the reception from the people of York. The positive has been put forward, and those who came out to see us were pleasantly surprised that it’s not the big bad event people sometimes think of.”