Bognor Birdman rally cancelled over pier safety

The organisers of the world-famous competition have cancelled the popular occasion in its home town.

The decision was made less than three months before the flock of 30 or so men, and women, were due to take to the end of Bognor Regis Pier on July 5 and 6.

The three directors of the committee of the International Bognor Birdmen met on Monday night to take the fateful decision.

Committee chairman Barry Jones said he devastated by the outcome. "It is a very sad day.

"Everything was going well in this, our fourth year, of organising Birdman.

"We now have to undo six months of hard work in arranging all the entertainment, laying on the security we needed and arranging sponsors and advertisers for our brochure which was just about to be printed.

"It's almost as much work to cancel the weekend as it is to go ahead."

So far, 16 competitors had entered for this year's fly-off. One each were due to come from Holland, Germany and the USA to prove the weekend's enduring international appeal.

There are serious doubts about whether the Birdmen will ever return to Bognor.

That would depend on the town's pier being restored to at least the length which it stood up to two weeks ago.

Owner John Ayers decided, on safety grounds, to pull down three pairs of columns at the seaward end.

This is believed to have reduced the length of the pier by some 80ft to make it impossible for the Birdmen's 35ft high ramp to be sited far enough from the shore to have enough depth in the water for their landings.

This year's Birdman was to have been a celebration of its 30 years in the town. It has missed occasional years because of a lack of sponsors or organisers.

But, until now, the Birdmen have always bounced back to resume their treasured place in Bognor's annual calendar of events.

Monday's meeting saw the committee vow to carry on the weekend's traditions.

It is not yet known if another resort, such as Worthing, could step forward quickly to ensure Birdmen could carry on.

A statement issued by the committee spoke of its members' 'great regret' at cancelling the weekend in Bognor.

They stated that the pier's shortening, which they described as a shock, had caused several difficulties.

The three most serious were ensuring enough depth of water in which the flyers could land, repositioning the launch platform and the restricted visibility for seafront spectators immediately west of the pier.

"In the words of committee members, 'we are gutted' at having to make this decision," the statement continued.

It spoke of hoping to find a short-term solution for the Birdmen to keep their wings flying in spite of being clipped in Bognor for this year.