A TOTAL of 140 people who were diverted along the wrong route during the Bournemouth Bay Run have received refunds from the council.

Confusion with marshalling on the 10k run in April led to many participants running an additional three kilometres. The problems occurred at Southbourne where participants were not directed back towards Bournemouth but carried on running towards Hengistbury Head instead.

It was originally estimated the problems affected between 100 and 200 runners, including elite athletes and club runners who had been looking to record a fast time.

Front-runners eventually reached the finish line a quarter of an hour longer than expected. The problems also caused a shortage of water for runners.

Bournemouth Tourism, which organised the event to raise money for the British Heart Foundation, apologised for the confusion and offered to refund the £14 administration fee to anyone who had been affected.

Bournemouth council yesterday confirmed that 140 people had since received refunds.