A MAN was today due to appear in court charged with attempting to murder a 78-year-old tourist near York Minster.

Tourism chiefs have moved quickly to reassure the public that York is a safe place after the South African visitor was allegedly hit on the head with a stone as he was taking a sightseeing walk.

He was taken to York Hospital with what police described as a “serious” head injury and a hand injury, but has since been discharged.

Police were quickly on the scene after the incident, which happened at about 8.30pm on Friday in the Minster Yard area.

A 43-year-old Tadcaster man was arrested in the Deans Park area.

He was questioned throughout Saturday and was charged with attempted murder in the evening. He was held in police custody overnight.

He was due to appear before York Magistrates this morning.

The tourism organisation Visit York said it was planning to discuss the matter with police and the Safer York Partnership.

Public relations manager Kay Hyde said: “Our first concern is for the full recovery of the man who was injured. While we are not currently in possession of all of the facts, it is an extremely rare occurrence within the city of York, which is one of the safest cities in the UK.

“It is, of course, of great concern and we will be talking with Safer York Partnership and the police to ascertain what has happened and how this can be prevented in the future.”

Mark Graham, the boss of the Original Ghost Walk of York, who has led groups through the city centre five evenings a week for 30 years, said: “I don’t understand it. It is tragic for the gentleman concerned and I hope he will be all right. In the grand scheme of things, York is remarkably safe. I have never had any personal assaults or anything like that happen to any of my groups.”