THE monks of Ampleforth must today have been considering a prayer for divine intervention to help them pay proper tribute to their illustrious former Abbot, the late Cardinal Basil Hume.

efforts to install a four-and-a-half tonne cross in his memory have run less than smoothly at the Abbey.

The Millennium Cross, as it is known, was brought all the way to Ampleforth from Westminster Abbey, but attempts to erect it with a Chinook helicopter failed last week and the cross crushed supports that had been welded into place.

Engineers have since spent the last few days digging a base out of the hillside for the crane to rest on.

But the crane which was expected to arrive at 9am today to manoeuvre the cross into position broke down near Selby, leaving expectant brethren, construction workers and assorted media representatives to watch and wonder.

Ray Thompson, contracts manager for Simpsons York Ltd, the construction company trying to erect the cross, said: "I think it's cursed, this thing. Hopefully we will have it in place this afternoon."

But later in the morning, the crane had still to be fixed - and the whole operation was called off until tomorrow.

Updated: 14:51 Monday, June 24, 2002