A ROAD through North Yorkshire close to a popular tourist attraction is closed today after vandals have struck.

The Stray which leads to both Castle Howard and the Yorkshire Arboretum near Malton going south towards the A64 from the Obelisk will be closed until about 5pm today (July 21) so that graffiti can be removed from the gatehouse. 

A spokeswoman for the estate said: "The Stray has been closed for a period of time today, Thursday 21st July, so that our specialist teams can repair and restore parts of the Gatehouse following an act of vandalism that happened in the early hours of Monday morning.

"Castle Howard and the Yorkshire Arboretum remain open as normal today, with road diversions in place."

She wouldn't comment on the nature of the graffiti and said the estate would not be sharing images of the vandalism.