PASSENGERS and railway staff have been left feeling intimidated by revellers passing through York station.

Families, shoppers and tourists have all had to mix with drinkers as they all catch a train home after spending a Saturday in the city.

British Transport Police say the behaviour of some has caused concern and made families feel unsafe.

Antisocial and alcohol-related behaviour over a number of years has led to a successful crackdown on unacceptable disruption after officers joined forces with North Yorkshire Police and the Safer York Partnership.

Inspector Richard Price, who is in charge of Operation Vanguard, which first started in April 2014, said: “Unfortunately, problems were occurring when these people, many of whom were heavily intoxicated, came back to catch trains home from the early evening onwards mixing and clashing with families, people returning from holidays, tourists and shoppers.

“This resulted in staff and passengers at the station feeling intimidated and unsafe.”

The operation has seen police make the station a Dry Zone on Saturday from 6pm to 9pm, they have stopped drunk people from travelling and put ticket barriers and ticket checks in place on Saturday evening and bank holiday weekends.

British Transport Police has also put an Alcohol Restriction Zone in the station and city centre to stop drunken behaviour.

Inspector Price is now urging people to get in touch and tell officers if they can do more by filling out an online survey.

He added: “Following the partnership working we have undertaken over the last few years crime has reduced and passengers and staff have reported to us that the situation has vastly improved and that they feel much safer in the station on Saturday evening.

“We want to continue to ensure that our tactics are effective, that we are making you feel safe while using York railway station and any suggestions on how we can improve things further.

“So it would be very useful to us if you could take a few minutes to complete this survey to provide us some feedback on your experience at York railway station.”

To fill out the survey go to: www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/btpyork

The survey will close on October 31 and all data will remain anonymous.