Thousands of bikers revved up for Wirral's 'rebel' run (From Wirral Globe)

Thousands of bikers revved up for Wirral's 'rebel' run

2:38pm Monday 18th March 2013 in News By Stephanie Cureton

MORE than 1,500 bikers fired up their engines to show their support for Wirral’s alternative egg run.

The event, which was held on Sunday, came after the world-famous Wirral Egg Run was scrapped this year due to lack of funding.

Water company United Utilities had offered to stump up sponsorship cash but the charity’s committee said the total cost to put it on had still not been met.

As a result, avid motorbikers Alf Burns and Tony Gray decided to organise their own unofficial event called Merseyside Easter Ride Out in aid of Claire House.

And despite safety fears from Wirral Council, Mr Burns said the Run went off without a hitch and attracted between 1,500 and 2,000 bikers.

There are also plans to hold a similar event next year.

He said: “It was an absolutely fantastic day and we are currently waiting for Claire House to tell us how much was raised. Sunday proved that that the Run can be done without all the extra things and that it can be about raising money for kids.

“We organised this in just two and a half weeks and the support we received on Facebook and from the public was amazing. We’re now hoping this will something that is done every year and we’re going to see what our options are.

“We have always said though that this was not a fight against the Egg Run and if we do hold the Merseyside Easter Ride Out again next year, it will not be a rival to the official run.

"This was purely about the kids and that’s how it always should be – a lot of bikers are just confused where the money all goes to putting on the event.”

The Wirral Egg Run is usually held each year to deliver Easter eggs to sick children and raise cash for local charities but organisers pulled the plug on the 2013 event following funding problems.

The committee urged bikers not to stage their own Runs amid fears it would damage the charity’s reputation and announced the official event would be back on April 6 2014.

However Claire House, whose representatives met bikers at B&Q car park to collect donations on Sunday, said they had liaised closely with the Egg Run committee and the council.

A spokeswoman from Claire House fundraising team said: ‘’We are aware that there has been a lot of focus on the cancellation of the Egg Run this year, however we would like to clarify that Claire House has been in constant communication with Wirral Borough Council, Merseyside Police and the Egg Run committee about the Merseyside Easter Ride Out.

‘”As a charity dependant on voluntary donations, we are so grateful to those individuals who chose to donate to us. It is a fantastic event which is enjoyed by many and really raises awareness for local charities.”