STREET performer Purpleman, who was attacked last week, has announced that he will stop appearing in York.

Purpleman, who sits on his bike for up to eight hours a day in Stonegate, entertaining locals and tourists, said he was abused by a group of men and then dragged off his bike.

The attack came only days after Facebook users were urged to use the UK riots as an excuse to push him off.

Although he did not fully explain the reasons for his decision, Purpleman said the attack had made him wary of his job and had initially made him “think about stopping immediately”.

He said: “I see groups of men before me now and I think, ‘am I going to be attacked’?”

But he said he had been touched by the huge amount of support he has received from well wishers and has even been sent postcards with messages of support from New York and Florida.

A spokesman for North Yorkshire Police said a 36-year-old man from Pontefract had been arrested at on August 13 near the junction of Stonegate and Petergate on suspicion of assault and of possessing a controlled drug.