Tourism and business chiefs in York today hit back at national media coverage which seized on recent high river levels to once again paint the city as a flooded no-go zone.

Worried visitors have been calling tourist information centres and hotels to ask if it is safe to visit after images portraying York as a city under water were beamed around the world last week.

Some media even used old pictures from the November floods without making clear that was when they were taken.

The exaggerated picture of November's floods sparked a rush of cancellations at hotels and guest houses in the city and tour operators took York off their itineraries.

The negative impact of last week's coverage looks to have been minimal so far, but business and tourism leaders are still keen to send out a strong "business as usual" message to stop visitors and investors from wrongly shunning the city.

Gillian Cruddas, chief executive of York Tourism Bureau, said: "There is absolutely no reason for anyone to cancel a visit to York.

"There is enormous sympathy for those in direct danger from flooding. However, it is absolutely vital that we get across our message to visitors that York is completely safe to visit."

She said that in a city where 9,000 jobs depended on tourism it was vital to highlight the reality of the flooding situation - less than five per cent of the city was affected even by November's record floods.

"It is important that a balanced perspective is maintained, especially when people's livelihoods depend on it. We are putting out a call to the media to report the new flood warning in a balanced manner and not to present images of November as the current situation."

Paul Murphy, chief executive of York Inward investment Board, said: "The message we have got to get across to the world is that, although York has high water levels from time to time, the city does not suffer from widespread flooding thanks to the investment in the Eighties in multi-million pound flood defences.

"Major businesses such as Norwich Union will testify to this. Even in November, when water levels were high, York was open for business as usual and that remains the case today."

A wide range of tourism-boosting initiatives, including the national launch of 600,000 new York mini-guides, will continue to help promote the city.

In December, the bureau, backed by the Evening Press, owners of thisisyork, and others, mounted the "York's Here" PR campaign, which included a television advert targeting nearly seven million viewers across Yorkshire and the North East.

Updated: 10:11 Monday, February 12, 2001