THE Daily Mail has apologised to York businesses for potentially affecting trade after publishing a photograph of York blanketed in snow.

The newspaper printed on February 4 a photograph of York Minster covered in snow from 2010 and reported The Minster was snowed in.

It printed a clarification in response to a complaint made to the Press Complaints Commission that said the article was inaccurate and misleading.

The response printed last week said: “An earlier version of this report contained an image with a caption stating that York Minister was snowed in by adverse weather conditions on 4 February 2013. We are happy to clarify that the image was in fact of an earlier snowy York scene and apologise if trade in the town was affected.”

City of York Council complained to the newspaper at the time, as a result of which the Daily Mail took the photograph down from its website.

Gillian Cruddas, chief executive of Visit York, said: “The British weather and recent snow understandably generates a really good news story. However, it is so very important to remember that sensationalist or inaccurate reports in respect to the weather do impact, sometimes unnecessarily, on visitors’ travel plans and indeed on people’s livelihoods.

“There is a balance to be struck in ensuring responsible reporting and we are pleased a correction and apology has been made. We’d also like to correct our status to city, not town.”