THE future of an Essex biker meet which has taken place every Wednesday for nearly 30 years is now in the hands of the public. 

The Great Bentley Bike Meet happens every Wednesday evening on the village green and sees thousands of bikers and gearheads travel from far and wide to attend.

This year the event marked its 27th anniversary with a special event. 

But Great Bentley Parish Council is now debating whether the meet-up should continue due to its growing number of attendees causing "liability issues." 

Jennifer Spear, Great Bentley Parish Council's clerk, said: "Due to the growing popularity of the event in the summer and the increasing amount of both bike and vehicle traffic that are now arriving on the green without permission, it has become a liability issue with a high risk, which ultimately as owners and custodians of the village green, the parish council are responsible for.

"The council discussed the issue at length and decided that there are only two ways forward, one to work with the bikers so the meet would fall under the same type of management as any other event on the green or to stop the meet completely.

"Therefore, the parish council resolved to hold a public consultation for the residents of the village on what they would like to do about bikers nights, either stopping them or letting them continue, which is what is now running until the end of October.

"The results of which will be published at the next parish council meeting in November and the council can then discuss a way forward taking into consideration the consultation results from the villagers."

The next meeting will take place on November 7.

It comes after the Great Bentley Bike Meet celebrated its 27th anniversary in June this year, which saw 2,000 bikers from all over England to take part in the festivities.

Great Bentley has a huge village green, which is the second-largest in England, and has been a weekly magnet for bike lovers since 1997.