POLICE have been branded heavy-handed for stopping brass bands playing as they left Saturday's Durham Miners' Gala.

Marchers with Sacriston Colliery Band found their way blocked by a police van in North Road as they headed back to their buses. And tempers flared when Murton Brass Band was ordered not to play beneath the balcony of the Royal County Hotel.

NUM officials are to raise their complaints with senior officers along with concerns that police-imposed restrictions could spoil the atmosphere of future events.

Police say they agreed with Gala organisers that bands heading to the north of the city had to disband in Market Place to avoid a conflict with traffic and pedestrians.

The Sacriston contingent, including children, followed three other banners down Silver Street because, lodge secretary Lawrence Claughan said, Market Place was full as the crowds were so huge. He said: "When we came to the taxi rank there was a riot van across North Road and there was only the width of the path to get by."

He said the group was told it could not march up North Road for safety reasons. Mr Claughan, who has complained to the NUM, said: "I have taken the banner in every year since 1972 and never confronted anything like this."

Murton Band, followed by hundreds of boisterous young marchers, was moved on - to the disappointment of the crowd - despite police agreeing that each band could play one tune.

Easington Council leader Alan Napier, who was walking with them, said: "It was like being in a police state. There were 600 or 700 people behind the banner and I commend them for their restraint in not taking the police bait. I'm going to be taking this further."

Photographer Keith Potts, who said bands following Murton were allowed to play, said he feared further restrictions on bands marching through the city could kill the spirit of the event.

NUM area secretary Dave Hopper said the police action was very heavy-handed. "It has put a dampener on the day, a day that was enjoyed by a lot of people," he said.

A police spokesman said Market Square had been agreed as a dispersal point because of problems last year with bands meeting traffic in North Road.

The one-tune rule at the hotel was introduced to maintain an orderly and safe flow for the procession in an area regarded as a bottleneck, he said.

"There does appear to have been a mix up with the Murton band and members of the band, in some cases very forcibly, made their point of view known. All police action was to ensure there was a free flow to the procession and that it was safe for everybody involved and all spectators."