POLICE arrested 20 people on an evening of alcohol-fuelled disorder in York which left one man with serious head injuries.

North Yorkshire Police said there were several fights last night in the George Hudson Street and Micklegate area, including one outside Popworld nightclub where the number of people involved was into double figures.

A man was taken to hospital with serious but not life-threatening head injuries after that incident, which happened at 8.40pm and led to the closure of George Hudson Street for more than an hour while the crime scene was taped off.

Deployment manager Paul Richardson said the disorder was related to the over-consumption of alcohol and was 'very disappointing.'

He added that one arrest had been made so far but inquiries were continuing.

He said extra officers had been on duty because it was a Saturday and there was a meeting at York Racecourse but the day had been relatively trouble free until 8pm, when the trouble started.

A force spokeswoman said today that 20 people were arrested in York in the period up to midnight for a variety of offences, with a total of 48 arrests across the whole force area.

"We were extremely busy, with double the number of 999 calls compared to the night before."