AN impromptu pillow fight took place in a public park at the weekend.

About 400 people spent five minutes doing battle with their bedding in the Museum Gardens, in York, on Sunday before they were moved on by police.

The event, known as a flash mob, was organised through social networking site Facebook by 35-year-old York author Martyn Clayton.

He said: “It was designed as a fun event where a large group of people gather in a public place for a short time and then disappear as quickly as they arrived.

“I’d wanted to organise something like this and a friend in San Francisco told me about a huge pillow fight which took place there, so I decided to do something similar in York, on a slightly smaller scale, and chose the Museum Gardens as it’s such a nice place.

“I set up a Facebook group inviting people along and we got a great response. It was very good-natured and there was a great atmosphere.”

North Yorkshire Police said they intervened after a similar event in London ended with serious injuries after people placed items such as snooker balls in the pillow cases.

Superintendent Lisa Winward, operations commander for the York and Selby area, said: “We decided we were not prepared to allow a similar situation to develop in York which, potentially, could have resulted in serious disorder and injury to both the people involved and innocent members of the public.”

No arrests were made.