ORGANISERS of York's Festival of Angels have said this year may be the last for the event as funding problems continue to plague them.

Caf owner Magdalena Chavez has been the principal organiser for three years and said she was "disappointed" that no charitable funding agency had yet pledged its support.

She said the colourful event in The Quarter involved dozens of schoolchildren, churchgoers and community members and attracted thousands of visitors to the city.

"There will not be another festival unless we get proper financial support," said Magdalena, who runs El Piano, in Grape Lane.

She said the event costed £10,000 to organise, which came from sponsors and traders themselves, while the police, council and other agencies offered crucial support.

Magdalena also accused the council of "not knowing what the other hand was doing" after a festival vehicle received a parking ticket as it delivered ice sculptures.

Festival organisers also face prosecution by City of York Council for displaying unauthorised flags and banners advertising the festival on several occasions.

A council spokesman said it was the council's responsibility to preserve the quality of the city centre environment and flags and banners could be "detrimental" to buildings.

She said: "On the other hand, we also want people to promote events, like the Festival of Angels,

which play an important part in the culture and vibrancy of the city.

"We realise that we have to find the right balance between promoting festivals like this and preserving the city's environment and will be having discussions in the New Year to establish a solution which takes all the issues into account."

Kay Hyde, public relations manager at York Tourism Bureau, said the festival's cancellation would be a "great loss" to the annual calendar of events in the city centre.

She said: "It's all down to individuals around the city who work together to put on events and we have a really good people putting in time and effort organising events.

"The Festival of Angels is a really good example of initiative by business people in the city putting on an event for Christmas."

The Festival is a bright and creative event that brings thousands of visitors to the city and attracts nationwide TV coverage, she added.

PC Paul Maloney, a member of York's Safety Advisory Group, said it would be a "great shame" if the Festival of Angels could not go ahead next year.

Updated: 11:34 Monday, December 23, 2002