Birdman organisers in talks over possible move down coast

Some of the individuals behind the staging of the annual spectacular off the pier are meeting the chief executive of Worthing Borough Council.

The get-together was arranged by Ian Lowrie, on the council's behalf, to see if the resort can host the fly-off from its council-owned pier.

Another resort wanting to stage the contest, which attracts competitors from around the world, is Brighton.

Officials on its privately owned pier have spoken to the organisers about their desire to host the occasion.

Derek Trotman, one of the directors of the International Bognor Birdman committee, said it would be possible to stage the 2008 event on the scheduled date of July 5 and 6 off either of the piers.

"I would estimate that it costs 25,000-30,000 to stage Birdman. Worthing would need to find that money from the council's budget somewhere.

"For Brighton, I believe the company which owns the pier has the money to stage Birdman," he stated. "I believe Birdman was worth 250,000 to Bognor in terms of publicity. The town was known throughout the world because the event. It would still be possible to stage it somewhere else in early July, though it would be a bit of a rush.

"That said, we had already done a lot of work to hold it in Bognor this summer. It would just be a case of transferring this to Worthing, though a new risk assessment would be needed."

Bognor's Birdman for 2008 '“ and possibly for ever '“ was scrapped last month.