FIRST there was the Millennium Dome, a vast London complex that swallowed nearly a billion pounds sterling, attracted barely half its visitor target and now stands empty.

Then came the Millennium Bridge over the Thames, also meant to celebrate the new century but with one snag: it wobbled.

Now - in Britain's latest construction farce - a 3.6 million pound (US$6.6 million) fountain memorial to Princess Diana is lying drained and fenced off in a London park after problems with leaves, flooding and scraped knees.

"It's bloody ridiculous," moaned English pensioner Alan Short, peering through the fence on a hot day in London's Hyde Park.

"The first thing any beginners' book will tell you about water features is 'Don't put it near trees', so look where they put it," he said, gesturing at trees all around and inside the circular stone chute round which water is intended to flow.

After some embarrassing bureaucratic delays and squabbling between designers, the Diana memorial was unveiled amid great fanfare on July 6 in the presence of Queen Elizabeth II.

A snaking 210 metres (689 feet) -long sculpture with water emerging at the apex to part and flow in two separate streams, it was supposed to double up as a children's play area, reflecting Diana's effervescent nature and outreach work.

Queen's tribute

"I congratulate those who have created the memorial before us. I thank both the design team for the imagination which they have brought to this project and those who have realized their concept with such care and craftsmanship," the Queen said.

"I think Diana would have enjoyed it; and I believe she would want all of us to do so too," she added in a nationally broadcast speech beside the fountain.

Within hours of those words, however, storms hit England and flooded the fountain. A week later, a pump blocked and again the memorial was closed for repairs.

Litter and dogs also dirtied the fountain. Then, in a final straw, three people - including a young boy - slipped and hurt themselves on the algae-covered stonework while playing in the water.

That prompted The Royal Parks authority to close the fountain indefinitely while solutions were sought.

Britons are dismayed, saying it was obvious that sunlight on untreated water was bound to produce slippery algae - designers are unable to add chemicals because the water flows out into the nearby Serpentine lake.

Critics also say the fountain saga dishonours the ever-popular Diana's memory and has cost too much.

"Would Diana really want to be remembered with this?" saleswoman Chantal Brown, 52, said in Hyde Park. "It's an awful waste of money ... helping AIDS sufferers would be a better idea," she added, recalling Diana's humanitarian work.

'National humiliation'

The mass-circulation Sun newspaper had a water sample tested and found it contained 840 times the acceptable level of dangerous bacteria, including some from faeces.

"Other countries do national memorials. Britain does national debacles," wrote Melanie Phillips in the Daily Mail.

"So why is it that this country just can't seem to get such simple things right? After all, none of these undertakings is exactly rocket science.

"These are simply cultural projects designed to commemorate big personalities or events and to enhance the gaiety of the nation. Instead, they turn into national humiliations."

(Agencies via Xinhua)