A family hoping to visit York for the weekend are facing disappointment after 19 guest houses and hotels said they could not stay for just one night.

Gill and Frank Burns, from Liverpool, wanted to treat their 11-year-old son, John, to a trip to the York Dungeon on Saturday and did not want to have to face the three-hour journey home at night.

Gill said: "We wanted to stay the night and go out for a nice meal in the evening and have a walk around the city walls on Sunday.

"But after ringing 19 different hotels and guest houses it seemed our weekend treat away was going to prove more difficult."

Gill added: "Not one place would accept a booking for just one night. They were either full or would only take a booking for two or three nights."

John, has been desperate to visit the York Dungeon for months and was promised a visit before the Easter holiday rush began.

Gill said: "This ruling does not give us a very good impression of York. Many people may only want a one-night stopover in York and they will all be turned down. Time and money restrictions can mean people can only stay in the city for one night.

"We are very disappointed. It seems pretty disgusting that we are being penalised just because we want to stay one night."

A spokeswoman for the Dean Court Hotel said: "We only have a very small allocation of single-night rooms available at the weekends. Our rooms sell much more easily than on weekdays."

Jim McGlynn, at Hobbits guest house in St Peter's Grove, said he does take single-night bookings. He said: "We have a lot of regulars and it's not fair to demand they stay for more than they want to."

Kim Robbins, chairman of the City of York Hotel and Guest House Association, and owner of Arnot House in Grosvenor Terrace, said most places would be booked up for this weekend. She said: "York is a popular destination for weekend visitors and guest houses know they can get two- or three-night bookings which make better business sense.

"It may be sensible for the family to contact guest houses on Saturday morning because some may have a vacancy."