08 April 2023 , 17:54
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Bank holiday thrill-seekers were left stranded in mid-air for an agonising 15 minutes after a theme park ride broke down.
A blind person was reportedly among those stuck on the Barry Island Pleasure Park in the Vale of Glamorgan, Wales on Good Friday as engineers worked frantically to fix a fault.
Management at the park have since apologised and will offer riders a free voucher following the error on the Top Scan ride which spins quickly in a circular motion and moves riders upside down.
But some parents have since criticised staff for allegedly not telling them at the time what was going on or when the issue might be fixed.
A blind person was reportedly one of the several people stuck on the ride (Nick Linsey/Wales Online)Dad Nick Linsey, 31, told WalesOnline he was watching his two young children on the ride when it suddenly stopped just seconds after starting.
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Recalling the scene, he said: “My whole family were on the ride and there was a younger blind kid on there as well and I felt uncomfortable with that because no-one was giving any information.
"Before the ride started a guy had a screwdriver out and he was fixing things at the back of the seats. It must have been 20 minutes while people were sitting on the ride.
“The ride started and things seemed to be going all right and then it came to a stop and the music stopped and no-one was really saying anything.
"Five minutes later a woman came and was pressing some buttons and then another guy was looking at the top and nothing was happening.
A dad who had children on the ride said he was left 'irritated' after staff reportedly did not say what was going on (Nick Linsey/Wales Online)“Another five or ten minutes passed and then another guy came with a harness and he was fiddling around with a button and eventually they got let down. My brother was on the ride and he gets quite anxious with rides anyway."
Nick said he saw people gathered around the ride "looking around a bit confused" as the riders continued to be raised aloft, adding that he began getting "quite irritated" himself at the situation.
But amusement park owner Henry Danter responded to the claims by saying he is satisfied with the response of his staff, and blamed the fault on a power cut potentially caused by water or damp.
The theme park's owner apologised for the incident and said he would offer those affected free rides (Nick Linsey/Wales Online)Detailing the steps taken by ride staff, he said: “When you have a cut out like that you lower it to the floor which they did, and you’ve got to check everything,”
“A trip went out but before you can start it up again you need to lower it and check everything. 99% of the time it’s caused by water and damp but we couldn’t be sure of that so we followed the procedure which does take 10 to 15 minutes.
“The ride carried on running for the rest of the day and we found there was nothing wrong. It was probably just damp, or because it hadn’t been used all winter and it had been refurbished.
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Mr Danter added that checks were performed every morning at the theme park and pointed out that they had a "very good safety record", before going on to say: "I’ve been operating rides for over 70 years and I’ve never had more than a bump, bruise or broken nail.
"I’m very upset this happened but I’m satisfied the proper procedure was taken. I send them my apologies and I’d be very pleased to meet them and I’ll give them free rides or something."