DRUNKEN revellers arriving in York could be put back on trains and sent home in a bid to tackle anti-social behaviour, according to the leader of the council.

Cllr Ian Gillies suggested the move as he outlined York’s challenges for the year ahead - and its successes in 2018.

He said York faces challenges, but is on the right track for 2019.

Cllr Gillies said major projects such as York Central and the Community Stadium have taken a “fantastic” move forward in 2018. But he outlined problems with housing, anti-social behaviour, traffic and social care which he said the council is working to tackle.

He said: “I have always been ambitious, we need to look to the future and what it holds for the people of York who will be following us. There are challenges. We have to look at what more we can do.” One solution he suggested to the problem of anti-social behaviour in the city centre is to work with the police to put drunk visitors back on trains home. And he added that there are concerns over the future of the high street.

“We don’t want people coming to York who are already the worse for drink,” he said. “We could work with the train operators and British Transport Police to curtail this. York is attractive because it’s a relatively small city centre with a lot of licensed establishments.

“I think a lot of the challenges are the problems with the high street, yet the other part of York is incredibly busy. Some people think we are not doing enough, other people think we are making it too busy.”

He said more must also be done for residents in financial hardship: “There are parts of the city that are less well-off and need help. They are important and this has to be one of our priorities. We have a challenge with housing and house prices because of the popularity of the city. We have an ambitious programme of social and affordable housing.”

But he said there is much to celebrate, including the Shakespeare Rose Theatre.

Cllr Gillies said: “We took a leap of faith. When we were given the vision of a theatre being built on our major car park I had to blink twice, but the outcome was incredibly successful and they are coming back next year.

"We have also got to acknowledge the continual success of York Racecourse – it’s exceptional. It has an international reputation.

“And we celebrated the performance of York City Knights and look forward to a successful campaign in 2019, particularly when they get to the new stadium. Hopefully the football club will have a revival to be where they should be.

“York has had many awards and we take pride in that, but we can’t afford to sit back. We have to provide for our residents and our visitors.”