THIS slime is the unpleasant sight greeting tourists and pedestrians walking through a busy tunnel in York.

City councillor Tracey Simpson-Laing today blasted the state of the "Marble Arch" tunnel in Leeman Road.

The Labour spokeswoman for City Strategy said pedestrians would be put off walking into the city through the tunnel unless someone got to grips with the slime problem, along with graffiti.

She said: "Due to the recent weather, I have been walking more than usual with many journeys to the city centre taking me through Marble Arch. This is a major route for walkers from Leeman Road, Holgate and Acomb and, as such, it should be a safe and clean route.

"While the lighting seems to have been fixed, the walls seem to ooze green and brown slime. Graffiti is again in evidence, and seems to increase daily, while bottles are hanging in the mesh in the raised roof area. These bottles are a real risk to anyone if train vibration causes them to fall.

"Marble Arch is known to have problems and, because of this, I cannot understand why it is not monitored regularly. I would also question why CCTV has not been considered for the tunnel."

Coun Simpson-Laing also pointed out that increasing walking was part of City of York Council's Local Transport Plan objectives and, for this reason alone, Marble Arch should be clean. However, the tunnel was also the main access to the National Railway Museum (NRM) for the majority of visitors and the state of the tunnel could be detrimental to York's tourism industry.

However, Coun Andrew Waller, executive member for neighbourhood services at the council, said the tunnel was owned privately by Network Rail and the council was not directly responsible for its upkeep.

He said: "It is something we are in regular contact with Network Rail about because it is their tunnel. We work with them to get them to clean it up.

"What we have done is made a point to the Labour government that there needs to be more powers for local authorities for private land in general. Where there are particular problems, there needs to be more direct action."

A spokesman for the NRM said: "As the tunnel is the most direct route to the NRM from York city centre, we aware of the importance of its condition and its impact on the comfort and safety of our visitors and staff. We are always keen to work with City of York Council and Network Rail in their efforts to keep it presentable as possible."

A Network Rail spokesperson said: "We carry out regular inspections to check the integrity of the tunnel, the last of which was carried out in June.

"We have an arrangement with York Pride for them to carry out the removal of graffiti etc from the tunnel as necessary, paid for by Network Rail, as part of the council's maintenance of the pedestrian walkway.

"The tunnel may be slightly damper than usual at the moment as work is carried out above the tunnel on platform two at York Station. Any issues caused by this will be rectified before the contractors leave site. Anyone with concerns about Network Rail property should report it to the national helpline 08457 11 41 41."