THE combat event which was set to take place this afternoon as part of the JORVIK Viking Festival has been cancelled due to strong winds.

The event, which normally follows the March from York Minster into Coppergate, will no longer take place in the Eye of York near Clifford's Tower.

A spokesperson for the Festival said: "At the moment, we are unable to put out safety barriers as the wind is too strong; we will not jeapordise public safety by inviting them into either an unbarriered area, or an area where barriers risk blowing down.

"This means our afternoon combat will not take place."

The March will still take place from 1.30pm at York Minster as scheduled.

A decision as to whether the Battle Spectacular will take place later today will be made between 4-5pm.

The spokesperson added: "We are continuing to review how conditions will affect this evening’s event, the Battle Spectacular. 

"The winds are currently too strong to raise the lighting towers, and the risk to our safety barriers continues. 

"Similarly, the use of shields in combat poses an additional risk to all participants in windy conditions."

The Festival team ask that ticket holders monitor their email and watch their social media channels for updates.