POLICE are warning troublemakers to stay away from Pocklington on Friday evening after the Rugby Sevens Tournament.

The Pocklington Sevens has been staged in the town every Good Friday since 1959. It has grown into one of East Yorkshire's biggest sporting days and attracts up to 3,000 people a year.

While the bank holiday event is trouble-free and family-friendly, the night that follows has historically resulted in drunkenness and occasional violence in the town.

This year, Humberside Police are warning people to be on their best behaviour or face the consequences.

There will be high-visibility police patrols in the evening and officers will use CCTV to monitor the streets.

Sergeant Pete Rogers, of Pocklington and Wolds Weighton Neighbourhood Policing Team, said: "The event is a decent, nice, community-run event. It is well-organised and well-run.

"It is later on in the evening when we find there is potential for an increase in public disorder.

"In the past, people have been arrested for being drunk and disorderly, and we have even had some unpleasant assaults and nasty incidents in the town.

"We want everyone to enjoy their day and we want to reassure the vast majority of people in the town we will be coming down hard on drunken and violent behaviour."

On Good Friday and the early hours of Easter Saturday last year, there was one public order offence in Pocklington and the previous year, there were no arrests.

However, in 2006, there were seven public order offences, one sexual offence, one drugs arrest, three criminal damage offences and two assaults. In 2005, there were five assaults and one charge of criminal damage and in 2004, there were arrests made for criminal damage, public order offences and possessing an offensive weapon.

John Kynaston, licensing officer for East Riding Council, said: "What happens on the rugby pitch is one event and what happens in the evening is a second event.

"During the day, we will make sure, along with the club, no one brings alcohol into the ground.

"After the match, many people come into the town and we will have a zero-tolerance approach to under-age drinking.

"We will also enforce designated no-drinking areas and smokers will be told to leave their drinks inside."

Mr Kynaston appealed to parents to ensure their children were not drinking if they are under age.

Phil Gilbank, press officer for Pocklington Rugby Club, said: "The Sevens finishes at 7.30pm and any trouble in Pocklington on the night is not necessarily linked to the event, but is often people who are just out in the town for the bank holiday."