The men at the ford are finally overwhelmed. Freeman describes the scene as follows, “In that wild flight and wild pursuit, men were hurled into the river, the ditch, and the marsh; here corpses were borne down the stream; there the ditch was so filled with the slain that the pursuers could march as on solid ground over their carcasses. The Norwegians had possession of the place of slaughter, and the remnants of the English were driven to find shelter within the walls of York.”