Mdina Ditch gardens. Photo: viewingmalta.com

The restored Mdina Ditch gardens may be as pleasant a place as any to while away an evening but, unless you plan to stay the night, you better keep an eye on the time.

Father-of-two Joseph Grech told the Times of Malta he and his family found themselves locked in the ditch at night without warning last week, only getting out thanks to the staff from a nearby restaurant.

Mr Grech had dinner outside Mdina together with his family and a couple from Torino last Thursday before heading for a stroll in the ditch at about 10.45pm, entering via the staircase close to the nearby playground.

When they reached the exit by the Greek Gate, however, they found the exit locked shut. The other two exits were locked too.

“There is no other way to get out unless one clambers over the high railings and gates at the top of the ditch, risking falling to one’s injury or death,” Mr Grech said. “As there were women and children in our group we decided not to risk it.”

They called the restaurant where they had just eaten and a staff member appeared shortly afterwards helping them leave the ditch through a private passageway.

Mr Grech said the staff member told them this was not the first time visitors had found themselves in a similar situation. He also said he had asked for notices to be displayed at the gates advising the public about the closing time but to no avail.

“The watchman does not even bother to walk through the ditch to check whether there are people still there. He just arrives, locks up and leaves,” Mr Grech said. “Neither is there is a PA system for him to announce that the ditch would be closed in a few minutes’ time.”

Chris Muscat, who was visiting from Torino with his wife, noted that a group of young people close by said they regularly had to climb over the gate – above a four storey drop – when these were locked.

“It was a warm evening and we all had phones, so there was nothing to panic about,” Mr Muscat said. “But for anyone visiting Malta, it projects a very amateurish image.”

When contacted, Mdina mayor Peter Dei Conti Sant Manduca said the council had received at least one similar complaint in the past, pointing out that the administration of the ditch fell under the central government.

He said there was a sign at the lower end of the ditch informing visitors of closing times but pledged to take the matter up with the authorities and push for the situation to be improved.