Westlife: Spice Girls are running scared

Westlife's Kian Egan has claimed that the Spice Girls are running scared over a chart battle with his band.

Both pop acts' new albums were originally due to be released on November 5, but the Spice Girls have now pushed back their Greatest Hits collection one week.

Egan claims he is particularly disappointed by the decision because he would take great enjoyment in getting one over on Mel C.

He told the Mirror: "We would take great pleasure in beating the Spice Girls - especially Mel C because every time she opens her mouth something mean comes out.

"Our album (Back Home) is good, we've worked hard on it and it would have been good to go head-to-head with their one.

"As far as we were concerned, we were going up against them and we were up for it. But then they suddenly changed their minds. They're running scared."

The last time both groups released albums simultaneously, the Spice Girls' Forever only sold 71,000 copies, while Westlife's Coast To Coast totalled 234,000 copies.