THE POPULAR Wirral Egg Run - which has taken place unofficially for the last two years because of disagreements between police and event organisers - looks set to be back on.

Wirral's new senior police officer confirmed this week he is "very supportive" of the event, which has thousands of motorcyclists visiting Wirral from around the UK and Europe to take part.

The bikers gather to travel in convoy from New Brighton to both Clatterbridge and Arrowe Park Hospitals to deliver Easter eggs to sick children.

There are also cash collections, and this year all that money will go to the Globe-backed Jellybean Appeal, the £600,000 fundraising initiative to make hospital stays more comfortable for youngsters and their families.

For the last two years the Egg Run has taken place unofficially despite police urging bikers not to turn up.

Organisers said they were being hindered by unnecessary red-tape and overly-stringent safety precautions, while police said they were concerned about the disruption to other motorists and pedestrians and wanted more specially-trained marshalls manning the route.

But last year, 2000 bikers rode anyway.

This week Colin Matthews, Wirral Area Commander for Merseyside Police, told the Globe: "There have been issues over organisation and stewarding in the past, but we have also always been broadly supportive of the Egg Run.

"We're now in discussions with the organisers to see how together we can make it an event that will be safe, good for Wirral, and of course raise what it can for charity, which is its main aim."

An Egg Run committee spokesman said: "There are still a couple of issues to be ironed out but we're extremely confident that these can be sorted, and we can get back to way things used to be."

This year's run, now in its 27th year, is due to take place on Sunday, April 1.