A DATE has been set for the raising of the Chevin Cross.

The cross is due to go up at Surprise View, on top of the Chevin, at 9.30am on Saturday, April 1.

A team of 20 volunteers is needed to help load it in Otley on the morning, and should meet at the Old Fire Station, next to the Courthouse Street car park, for 9am.

Between 50 and 60 helpers will also be required to assemble the 36ft high wooden monument and pull it into position at Surprise View.

The brainchild of the Otley Council of Christian Churches, the cross was first installed at Surprise View in 1968 and has provided a striking Easter symbol on the landscape ever since.