South Shields Parkrun to stay free, says council

Hundreds of people have been taking part in the South Shields Parkrun every Saturday.

The group takes on a 5km course beginning at the promenade near the Sand Dancer pub at 9am.

But, after a local council in South Gloucestershire has decided to charge organisers of the fun run, South Tyneside Council chiefs have spoken out to reassure runners they have no plans to follow suit.

A spokesman said: “We currently have no plans to charge Parkrun organisers for staging their local event.”

Stoke Gifford Parish Council recently met with criticism when it announced it was introducing a charge for its local Parkrun.

But more than 20,000 people have signed a Change.org petition against the decision.