A ZOMBIE obstacle run is set to return to Bournemouth in 2018 after a successful first event.

Runners at the Zombie Escape, held at Kings Park on Saturday, had to complete a tough 5km obstacle course while being chased by hordes of the undead.

Each runner had 3 tags that were attached to their body and the zombies were attempting to grab the tags, thereby ‘infecting’ the runner.

If the runners made it to the ‘safe zone’ at the end of the 5km with at least one tag still in place, they were safe from infection.

The participants had to tackle a series of obstacles along the way, including scramble nets, hay bale jumps and a maze.

Almost 300 runners took part in the event at Kings Park, with 50 volunteer zombies attempting to catch them throughout.

Event director Steen Stones, 33, organised the first-time event and was delighted with how it all came together.

“The volunteer zombies have been amazing and really got stuck in,” he said. “One runner said he was a little bit scared going round the course which is exactly what we’re after.

“People have been saying it was really good fun and lots have been asking us if we are coming back next year.

“I’ve said yes, we’ll definitely be doing it again! It will be October time next year to tie it in with Halloween.”

The event was previously supposed to take place on October 21, but had to be cancelled due to Storm Brian.

Despite there being persistent rainfall again on Saturday, it didn’t stop the runners turning out in their droves.

One participant was Kevin Ho, 37, who said: “I’ve found the event to be really good fun, it’s been well organised with lots of volunteers and lots of zombies.

“The obstacles were great, lots of crawling on the ground and getting really muddy.

“Some of the zombies were quite traditional and slow but others were really fast and that’s where we needed to get our fitness up - sadly all of my tags got pinched!”

Many of the runners took part in the event to raise money for a charity of their choice.

Stephen Ross, 31, who is a social worker in Bournemouth, participated to raise money for Looked after Children.

He said: “It’s been a good laugh and that’s what it’s all about, raising some money and having a good time.

“I’ll most definitely come back next year and I’m going to put the word out to make sure more people come as well.”