Wet and warm weather yesterday meant cathedral bosses had to shut the attraction, disappointing about 300 people who had already bought tickets.

The closure will cost about £2,000 in lost ticket sales.

Cathedral bosses were hoping the arena would reopen this morning. About 450 tickets had been sold for today.

Anyone who has bought tickets for Tuesday has been offered a refund or an alternative time slot.

Administration manager Bob Forrester told the Daily Echo: "It is a minor setback and hopefully just for one day. Other outdoor rinks have been experiencing the same problem.

"Apparently this is not uncommon. It's a combination of the wet, the wind and the temperature.

"The ticket sales are going very well - so well we have been taking on extra staff."

Cathedral staff spent much of yesterday trying to contact ticket-holders to save them a wasted journey to The Close.

Their efforts were hampered by many of the phone lines into cathedral offices being out of order.

The weather has caused problems for the high-tech cooling system that creates a thin layer of ice.

The rink, a first in Winchester, opened last Friday evening amid a fanfare of bugles, a skating demonstration compered by former Olympic gold medallist Robin Cousins, and torrential rain.

The wet weather has barely let up since.

So far, up to 13,000 tickets have been snapped up.

The rink will be open until January 7. On Mondays, Wednesday and Sundays it is open 10am to 7.30pm; on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays it is open from 10am to 8.30pm.

Tickets cost £8 for adults, £6 for children.