Rotten eggs! Organisers of 'rebel' run attack council after permit refusal (From Wirral Globe)

Rotten eggs! Organisers of 'rebel' run attack council after permit refusal

10:47am Friday 15th March 2013 in News Exclusive By Stephanie Cureton

Bikers at last year's official Egg Run

COUNCIL bosses have refused to let children’s hospice Claire House collect donations from motorbikers staging their own alternative Egg Run.

A group of avid bikers had organised the "Merseyside Easter Ride Ou"t in the wake of Wirral’s famous Egg Run being scrapped this year.

Organisers of the ‘rebel’ run had planned to meet representatives from Claire House at New Brighton Dips on Sunday to donate cash and Easter eggs before setting off on the usual Run route – without visiting the ‘landing zone' at Clatterbridge Hospital.

However officers at the council have told Claire House they would not be allowed to set up on the Dips due to safety concerns and policing issues.

But udeterred,  organiser Alf Burns and his team have now managed to secure the use of the B&Q car park in Bidston for bikers to drop off their eggs ahead of the start of the event.

Mr Burns, 57, said: “It’s a sad state of affairs when a charity like Claire House are told they can’t set up on the Dips.

"As we said before, this was never meant to deliberately cause bother or be vindictive against anyone – we just wanted to ride out and do some good for charity.

“This has created massive feeling of resentment towards the council for trying to pull the plug on this. But we are still going ahead and will be going to B&Q before starting the route from New Brighton.”

A Wirral Council spokesman said: “In January this year the trustees of the Wirral Egg Run formally notified the council that sufficient funding could not be guaranteed from sponsors to meet the total cost of running the event safely and professionally.

"The trustees have since published information asking riders to act responsibly and not turn up on March 17.

“Any unofficial gathering will not be subject to the normal safety measures that are part of the detailed planning that is associated with the Wirral Egg Run.

"This includes official road closures, safety stewards and marshals being in place as well as significant support from Merseyside Police.

“It is for these reasons that permission to undertake other organised activities on the dips have not been granted by the council as the land owner.”

The world-renowned official Wirral Egg Run, which attracts thousands of bikers every year to deliver Easter eggs to sick children, was scrapped this year due to a lack of funding.

The 2013 Run was thought to have been saved when United Utilities came forward with a £20,000 sponsorship package but the total cost to hold the event safely could still not be met.

Also, Clatterbridge Hospital was not available due to construction work at the site. However the Egg Run committee say plans are underway for next year’s event on April 6 2014.

Charity trustees quickly urged bikers to avoid planning their own egg runs on March 17 amid fears of damaging the official event’s reputation.

But Claire House, who will be at B&Q, Bidston from 8.30am, say they have liaised with the Egg Run charity and welcome any donations.

A Claire House spokeswoman said: “We’re working in accordance with the Wirral Egg Run charity and we have been liaising with them so they are aware of the plans. We have explained that as a charity, we are not in a position to turn down donations.”

• A family fun day in aid of the Wirral Egg Run will also be held at Molloy’s Garden Centre, Leasowe Road, Wallasey, on Sunday, March 17. It will feature a bouncy castle, DJ and stalls. The official committee have given their backing to the event.