• 1 Department of Computer Science, Otago University

Suppose that p,q,r,s are non-negative integers with m=p+q+r+s. The class X(p,q,r,s) of permutations that contain no pattern of the form α β γ where |α |=r, |γ |=s and β is any arrangement of \1,2,\ldots,p\∪ \m-q+1, m-q+2, \ldots,m\ is considered. A recurrence relation to enumerate the permutations of X(p,q,r,s) is established. The method of proof also shows that X(p,q,r,s)=X(p,q,1,0)X(1,0,r,s) in the sense of permutational composition.\par 2000 MATHEMATICS SUBJECT CLASSIFICATION: 05A05