ORGANISERS of a festive attraction in York’s Museums Gardens have defended their efforts to tackle wintry weather problems after a woman complained walkways and platforms were icy and slippery.

Lunchbox Productions said every priority was being given to ensure the safety of visitors to Christmas at York Museum Gardens at all times, and especially during cold weather.

Visitor Sarah Harrison said she had travelled to York from Scarborough earlier this week to see the historic gardens transformed into an illuminated trail, filled with seasonal colour and music, but "no words could describe how disappointed" she was.

She said: “The plastic walkways and viewing platforms were icy and very slippy, and so had to walk on the grass.”

She claimed she then ended up walking in "big muddy puddles" which couldn’t be seen very well, although she was wearing appropriate footwear.

She said she planned to contact the council over her health and safety concerns, as she feared someone would end up having an accident. She also said she was not impressed by the lighting displays and left after 20 minutes.

A Lunchbox spokeswoman said event managers inspected the trail during the afternoon and throughout the evening, monitoring conditions and preparing surfaces with grit to ensure the safety of all visitors.

“Extra supplies of grit are already being spread across the site, with further quantities available at key locations,” she said.

“We will, of course, continue to assess and respond to conditions as appropriate.”

Chief executive James Cundall said the response to the new Christmas at York Museum Gardens attraction had been "overwhelmingly positive".

He said: “We’ve welcomed over 15,000 visitors already and Saturday evening is close to being sold out.”

The Museums Gardens Christmas event, which continues until January 1, includes musical LED trees, the projection of a traditional Christmas scene onto the ruins of the medieval St Mary’s Abbey, a Christmas village with a vintage funfair ride and coloured globes adorning a lawn.