A MAN has been seriously injured in an assault on York's Gillygate, which was closed for several hours this morning.

North Yorkshire Police was called at 5.45am to reports of an assault in Gillygate, and said a man was taken to York Hospital "with serious injuries".

A spokeswoman said: "It is unknown at this stage how the injuries happened.

"Enquiries are ongoing to locate a man believed to be involved in the incident."

The police spokeswoman said officers had no description of the man they wanted to find, and would not confirm local reports that a man had suffered injuries from a sharp implement.

Gillygate was shut to vehicles and pedestrians, but reopened at around 10.30am.

A pavement on St Leonard's Place on the York Theatre Royal side and a section of a pavement on Bootham were also cordoned off in connection with the incident.

Barrie Stephenson, who is chairman of Claremont Terrace Residents' Assocation, said he was at the scene at 7.30am and asked the police if there had been a road accident or a stabbing but they were unable to say.

Jo Weeks who works for Cohens Chemist in Gillygate said all the calls are being diverted to her so she can arrange medicine drop offs to be made from other outlets today.

She said: "About 30 people are going to struggle to get their medicine from us today and they might have to go to other suppliers, which is a loss of business for us."

Before Gillygate reopened, Portland Street resident Phillip Short said: "I can't get in to my house at the moment, I'm waiting for the police to allow me in. It's annoying because my business won't be able to open today. There's often police activity in this area."

At around 9.30am, Giampiero Scanu, who runs Mamma Mia's restaurant on Gillygate, said: "They told me two or three hours until Gillygate can open.

"It will mean I can't open for lunch.

"But what can I do, you have to respect the law. It's not their fault."

A local resident, who did not want to be named, said it is "horrible" what had happened, adding: "I don't know anything.

"You can usually hear anything going on outside."

Parents dropping their children at Bootham School were advised to stop at the Union Terrace car park or make arrangements to access the school through the pedestrian entrance through Bootham.

Bus users were also advised the closure of Gillygate was affecting First services in the city this morning.

First has since tweeted: "All services are back to normal route, some buses are running late and are being adjusted accordingly."