Heritage group considers plans to protect landmark

English Heritage is considering further measures to prevent damage to the mound under Clifford's Tower caused by people climbing up the York landmark.

Staff have been verbally abused for asking people to behave more respectfully around the monument, which was the site of a massacre of Jewish residents in the city in 1190, according to a spokesperson for the organisation.

They said extra security had been brought in at weekends and during the school holidays to try to stop people from damaging the site.

Simon Bean, English Heritage's assistant operations director for the North, said the team was "disappointed and frustrated" by the situation.

"As a charity, we would much rather be spending our limited resources conserving and sharing the historic sites in our care than repairing damage caused by this sort of behaviour," he said.

Signs at the site urge people not to walk on the banks and Bean said the team "actively discourage people from climbing and sliding down the mound".

"Unfortunately, much of this behaviour takes place outside our operating hours, and our team can also face verbal abuse when asking people to respect the monument," he said.

"We are reviewing what further measures we could introduce."

The monument was originally a timber tower on top of the mound but was burned down during the massacre.

The present stone structure dates back to 1245.

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