AN ANGRY York shopkeeper has called for more police presence after vandals swept through a York district.

York Police have called on the public to shop the culprits behind a wave of damage in the Clifton area.

Neil Griffin, who runs Clifton Hardware, was alarmed when he returned from a week's holiday to find windows had been broken at Clifton Green School, shop windows in the area had been smashed, a telephone box and a bus shelter had been vandalised and a car roof had been dented.

Mr Griffin said he thought vandals had embarked on a crime spree over the bank holiday weekend, smashing windows with a baseball bat.

He said he feared the damage signified the start of crime rampages, similar to those in Holgate, reported in the Evening Press on Saturday.

"Older people in particular are frightened," he said.

"They come in the shop and tell us they are worried about leaving their houses unattended, they're worried they might get run over on the pavement by bikes, they're worried their handbags might be snatched.

"We don't have enough policing in Clifton. Officers drive by in their cars but they don't seem to patrol the streets. We need a regular police presence to stop incidents like this happening."

Police confirmed 17 incidents had been reported in the Clifton area in the last week.

PC Richard Gatecliffe, of York Police, said reports included smashed windows at properties in Grosvenor Terrace and Lumley Road, damage to a garden and pond in Burrill Avenue, damage to a car parked in Avenue Terrace and a damaged office window in Avenue Road.

He urged residents to act as the police's "eyes and ears".

"Often people are woken by a bang and is it not until they hear another bang that they get up and have a look," he said.

"It is very important that incidents are reported to us straight away, with details such as the number of offenders, descriptions, distinguishing features and they direction they were heading in. We rely on information from the public and we react as rapidly as possible.

"If people witness a crime they should really be thinking about making a 999 call."

Chief Inspector Andy Bell said the figure was higher than he would normally expect.

He said: "This is a trend I want to stop as soon as possible and if anyone has any information whatsoever I would urge them to contact us.

"We are policing with sufficient police officers to deal with the level of crime in the city of York and I would urge the public to assist us."

Anyone with information about any of the crimes should phone the witness line on 01904 669884.

City of York Council said today Clifton Green School would not be reopening until Monday so that building work there could be completed.

Nobody could say at the time of going to press whether the vandalism had been a factor in the delay.

Updated: 10:37 Wednesday, September 01, 2004