Otley'S famous Easter Cross will be erected on top of the Chevin on Saturday, April 8. Volunteers are needed to turn up at the site, opposite The Royalty public house on Yorkgate at 9.15am on the day.

Coun John Burland, a member of Otley Methodist Church, said: "We need at least 40 people to help put the cross up and we will welcome anyone who can assist.

"It will stand for four weeks as a symbol of Christian love for the community and will be taken down on Saturday, May 6, when we will again need the same number of volunteers."

The original cross was damaged by vandals last year and Otley Council of Churches launched an appeal for funds to replace it.

The townspeople contributed £2,000 and Ilkley cabinet maker Brent Thompson completed the new cross in time for it to go up on the Chevin over the New Year period.

The new cross is 32 ft high with a 16ft crosspiece. It is made almost entirely of pitch pine salvaged from the 1996 Manchester IRA bombing. The city centre was devastated by the 3,000lb bomb and reopened only last December.

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