Violence threat to York street performer (From York Press)

Violence threat on Facebook towards Purpleman street performer

9:07am Saturday 13th August 2011 in News

YORK street performer Purpleman has vowed not to quit his job even though Facebook users were urged to use the riots as an excuse to push him off his bike.

Purpleman sits on his bike for up to eight hours a day in Stonegate, entertaining locals and tourists.

But he has contacted police to raise his concerns after becoming aware of a Facebook page entitled “Using-riots-as-an-excuse-2-push-tht-****in-purple-man-off-his-bike-in-York,’ which by yesterday afternoon was “liked” by more than 400 people.

The performer, who prefers not to use his real name, said he had noticed a large police presence in the Stonegate area on Tuesday, and an officer had asked if he had noticed anything unusual and told him police had heard about something on Facebook.

“I now understand that this was referring to me, so congratulations to York Police for looking out for me,” he said.

“This is all very sad because I exist to give joy and happiness to others. Also sad is the large number of people liking this page. One thing is for sure, I won’t quit, whatever the risks.”

A spokeswoman for North Yorkshire Police said it took all reports of threats seriously, as it continued to monitor the aftermath of the recent disorder across the country.