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Leeds ARTICLES

Leeds pillow fight is cancelled

19th May 2008

A huge pillow fight that was being planned to take place in Leeds on Sunday 25th May has been cancelled. The mass ‘flashmob’ pillow fight was being organised on the social networking website, Facebook, and was scheduled to take place at 3pm in the Hyde Park area of the city.

The mass pillow fight was cancelled after West Yorkshire Police located the event’s organiser and voiced their concerns that the event could cause public disorder. Police became aware of the event after local residents spotted the event on the internet and raised the alarm.

Sergeant Darren Bedford of West Yorkshire Police’s Neighbourhood Policing Team said: “We spoke to the organiser and pleaded with them for it not to go ahead. They have taken it on board and said they were not going to go ahead with it. They very responsibly didn't run it and said they would knock it on the head… There potentially could be another one at another location, but it's not been brought to my attention.”

Since officers were in touch with the organiser, the group appears to have been removed from the Facebook site, although some smaller splinter groups were continuing to invite pillow fighters to similar events on other days.

Concern was raised over this flashmob event after a recent mass water fight in Leeds City Centre caused thousands of pounds worth of damage to the city’s award-winning Mandela Gardens in Millennium Square. Council officials said that the event, which was also organised on Facebook, drew an estimated 350 participants who were armed with buckets and water pistols. A council spokesperson said that years of work was ruined by the water fight after plants were uprooted, turf was ripped up and water features were emptied and filled up with foam. After the fight, police looked at footage that was posted on YouTube and Facebook in an attempt to identify the culprits.

Source:

BBC
Daily Telegraph
Halifax Courier