POLICE have thanked York residents for their support in helping to keep the city peaceful and have pledged more of the same patrols this weekend.

Last week, North Yorkshire Police officers asked for parent’s cooperation in tackling the amount of antisocial behaviour and drinking experienced in the Little Knavesmire area over previous weekends.

Officers also carried out high-visibility patrols into the early hours of the morning on Friday, Saturday and Sunday and put dispersal orders in place to deal with any groups causing antisocial behaviour or worse.

Inspector Lee Pointon, of York Neighbourhood Policing Team, said: "My thanks goes to those who supported us and our plea to parents to make sure they knew where their children were and what they were doing. The weekend passed off quietly with officers only needing to speak to one group when they asked them to consider local residents, which they duly did.

"With more dry, warm weather on the way we will be doing more of the same patrols this weekend and keeping the same dispersal orders in place giving us the ability to disperse groups and prevent people from returning within a specific timeframe. We hope to see the same great cooperation this time.

"We’ll also be working closely with our partners and the City of York Council and Safer York Partnership who will be undertaking joint patrols, addressing issues of littering and underage sales of alcohol."

The actions were put in place following increased reports of drinking, littering and intimidating behaviour by groups of youths in the area.

Jane Mowat of the Safer York Partnership, added: "We are keen to ensure that as Covid restrictions are eased, our communities continue to feel safe in York.

"We are working closely with the Neighbourhood Policing Teams on a daily basis to ensure that we identify any issues early and put joint measures in place to address them."