Pubs reopen: North Yorkshire Police say there were 'small pockets' of rowdy behaviour but 'no more busy than a usual Saturday night'

The force has said there were "small pockets" of rowdy and anti-social behaviour but no significant incidents caused by pubs and bars being allowed to serve customers once more.

A spokesperson for the force said: "Our licensing team carried out a number of visits to licensed premises during the day and were pleased to report that all venues visited had worked hard to make their premises safe for customers."

Assistant Chief Constable Mike Walker, said: “My thanks to everyone who enjoyed last night responsibly and to the licensees who have worked hard over the past weeks to prepare for opening.

"It’s inevitable that with alcohol consumption comes anti-social behaviour and we were prepared for an increase in demand. It was busy but no more than a usual Saturday night.”

Simon Stevens, the head of the NHS, told BBC One’s Andrew Marr Show today: “Pleasingly, we did not see last night the kind of scenes that people feared. The foolish few but the sensible majority is I think the story across the country, and long may that continue.”

The health secretary, Matt Hancock, said most people were “doing the right thing” and social distancing on Saturday night. “Well, I think that from what I’ve seen, although there’s some pictures to the contrary, very, very largely people have acted responsibly,” he told Sky’s Ridge on Sunday.

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