A POPULAR Easter event was cancelled over fears major sewerage works would overrun.

Members of the Friends of Boscombe Chine Gardens made the decision to cancel their annual family fun day late last year after Wessex Water works were announced.

However, the work - which saw a temporary overground sewerage pipe put in place along a 2.4km stretch of Boscombe's promenade and cliffs - has in fact been completed ahead of schedule.

The pipe, which runs from an access point in Boscombe Chine Gardens via Boscombe Overcliff to Fisherman’s Walk, near Montague Road, is now being removed by engineers.

Graham Taylor of the Friends said: "Before Christmas, trustees met to discuss the temporary pumping equipment located by the bridge in the gardens.

"Wessex Water said the work would be finished by spring 2017, but of course there was no guarantee that it would happen by Easter.

"The works restricted the space available in the gardens and created a bottleneck for people walking through.

"If these had still been in place when the event had taken place, there would have been problems, especially if the weather was good and we had a large number of visitors.

"We were worried about a potential risk to the public."

The steel pipeline, which measured around half a metre in diameter, was put in place to divert waste away from a damaged section of the 18m deep ‘Bournemouth coastal interceptor sewer’, which serves the bulk of the borough’s households.

Mr Taylor said: "We concluded that it could potentially be dangerous to visitors.

"It would have been irresponsible for it to have gone ahead."

Last year's Easter event in the gardens was one of the few able to go ahead after the county was hit by Storm Katie.

Volunteers put contingency plans in place, cancelling some of the planned attractions over health and safety concerns.

However, families still visited to enjoy a host of events, including a dog show, face-painting, a barbecue and live entertainment.