PLANS for a temporary Christmas ice rink in Southampton have been scrapped.

Tory council chiefs took the decision to axe the popular attraction to avoid a repeat of last year's financial losses.

It has come as a major setback for skating enthusiasts, who say it is the latest in a long line of disappointments in creating a city centre ice rink.

Meanwhile people can already book their places on the Winchester ice rink, which will return to Cathedral Close in November.

Southampton's Cabinet member for leisure Councillor John Hannides admitted no businesses had responded to an appeal to prop up the event with sponsorship and he did not want the taxpayer to subsidise it should it not break even.

He blamed the previous Lib Dem administration for failing to line up a commercial ice rink operator to do the job before they were booked up.

He said: "From January to May they did nothing to go back out and establish contact with operators.

"My officers are now working on finding an operator for December 2008."

Last year's £140,000 event attracted 19,000 skaters but made a loss of £60,000 because of poor planning and sponsorship.

It formed the centrepiece of the council's Christ-mas and New Year celebrations and was the first time residents had put their skates on in the city since the Ban-ister Park rink closed in 1988.

An appeal for sponsorship went out in July, offering packages starting at £15,000, but to no avail.

Cllr Hannides said: "I was very disappointed. We worked very hard trying to generate the interest.

"It may be that businesses don't see a temporary ice rink as having noticeable commercial benefit for them."

Lib Dem opposition spokesman for leisure, Councillor Steve Sollitt, countered: "You really have to ask how dedicated the Tories are to the provision of a facility here in the city and to providing new recreational facilities.

"The Tories came into administration saying how important leisure was to them. On this evidence I have to question that."

Cllr Sollitt said work had been going on "in the background" to find a commercial operator earlier in the year and insisted there was still enough time for the Tories to sort a rink out.

However, Cllr Hannides said the cash saved could be put towards feasibility work on a shortlist of sites for a full-size ice rink, which will be touted to commercial operators.

Eileen Long, of Southampton Ice Dance and Figure Skating Club, said: "Over the past 19 years we have seen nine developers come and go for a new replacement ice rink. It's no surprise that we can't even have a temporary ice rink."

Winchester's rink was a huge success last Christmas, when more than 30,000 people donned skates to use it.