PLANS for a women's war memorial backed by an Evening Press campaign are under threat again.

Campaigners in York and Selby were celebrating last year after finally winning a six-year fight to build Britain's first national memorial to the women of the Second World War.

They were given planning permission to put it up in Whitehall, only to find that major strengthening work needed to be done on the site to prevent the 22ft high monument from crashing through on to Tube lines below.

The National Heritage Memorial Fund stepped into the breach and handed over £1 million to cover the work.

Now the project has been dealt another blow, following the discovery of major gas pipelines underneath the site, which is near the Cenotaph.

The Women of World War II Memorial Fund charity has been told it will cost £335,000 to remedy the problem, leaving it with a shortfall of £250,000.

It also fears the latest setback will scupper the unveiling of the bronze memorial by the Queen on July 9, the eve of the 60th anniversary celebrations of the end of the Second World War.

The charity said today it did not have the funds to meet this sudden new bill, and called on City of Westminster Council to grant permission to site the memorial 12 metres closer to Parliament Square to avoid the gas mains.

Selby MP John Grogan today appealed to war veterans to write to City of Westminster Council supporting the new planning application.

Mr Grogan, vice-patron of the charity, said: "Even though the memorial will be in Whitehall, the campaign has been very much Yorkshire-led and championed by the Evening Press."

Betty Boothroyd, the charity's patron and former House of Commons Speaker, said: "The Queen has accepted our invitation to unveil the monument on July 9, and our plans for a reunion of war heroines and veterans are well-advanced.

"It would be a tragedy if all our hard work and high hopes are jeopardised by a technical hitch."

The charity's chairman, Major David Robertson, of Imphal Barracks, in York, said: "The solution is to move the monument a short distance out of harm's reach and we hope Westminster Council gives us the necessary permission."

The campaign was launched in 1998 by former army gunner Mildred Veal, of Clifton, York, and ATS servicewoman Edna Storr, of Cedar Close, Selby.

Letters supporting the new application should be addressed to Councillor Angela Hooper, chair of planning committee, City of Westminster Council, Westminster City Hall, 64 Victoria Street, London, SW1E 6QP.

Updated: 09:54 Wednesday, February 23, 2005