York council could slash its budget for Holocaust Memorial Day by 80 per cent if a planned cutback is passed.

HMD is normally marked with a candlelit vigilat Clifford's Tower, where 150 Jews were massacred in 1190.

The Lord Mayor, Jewish community leaders and councillors held a memorial event this year at Merchant Adventurer's Hall, where two survivors spoke about their experiences.

But next year the budget could be slashed from £5,000 to £1,000 by the Lib Dem-led council. Labour's opposition leader James Alexander said: "The budget is stretched as it is and I think the proposed cut would mean the civic day is no longer viable."

Labour's social inclusion spokeswoman Sonja Crisp believed any cut would have "a detrimental effect on our efforts to create an inclusive York".

But council leader Andrew Waller maintained that the proposal was simply a matter of moving money into different departments. "The event will still take place. We have been commemorating HMD for a few years now and every year it has got bigger, with more people and schools involved. It is not the case that the event will suffer."

The cut will be discussed at the next council meeting on February 24.