"It was horrendous": Riders 'screamed and cried'…

"It was horrendous": Riders 'screamed and cried' before having to walk down from Blackpool's Big One

A woman has described the 'horrendous' moment that she had to walk down from a rollercoaster at Blackpool Pleasure Beach after it stopped mid-ride.

Harriet Molyneux, from Wigan, and her friend Lydia Royale were riding the Big One - the UK's tallest rollercoaster - at the theme park on Tuesday (April 11) when the carriage stopped on the lift hill. Staff had stopped the iconic ride due to a 'sudden change in weather conditions'.

Harriet said people 'screamed and cried' when the rollercoaster ground to a halt. She said passengers waited around 10 minutes before staff helped walk them down to safety.

She described the scene as 'horrendous' as rain and wind lashed them as they made their way down. Harriet said she and Lydia waited around two-and-a-half hours to get onto the ride.

She said once they reached the front of the queue, it 'seemed like a long time' for the ride before to get back. She noticed staff 'radioing through to each other' but then was told to get onto the rollercoaster as normal.

The view from the top of the rollercoaster (Harriet Molyneux)

"It set off and as we were climbing up it seemed to be really really windy", Harriet told the Manchester Evening News. "We got to the top and it stopped.

"Me and my friend just said we couldn't believe it and then everyone started screaming. Someone started to say there was a guy coming up the stairs, he came up and said they were waiting for an electrician.

"We waited and then another guy came up and said it was ok. He said he would let us know what was going on so we were still waiting there after about 10 minutes.

Staff helped riders walk down to safety (Harriet Molyneux)

"He just said we have to get you off. Someone was crying.

"People were saying 'we don't want to get off', it was horrendous. My friend said 'I can't breath' she was panicking.

"It was really high, our hands were like ice it was windy and raining. He kept saying 'it's ok don't look down' but you had to look down to see where you were going."

Passengers walking down The Big One at Blackpool Pleasure Beach (King's Boutique Hotel Blackpool)

Harriet said once they had made it back down to safety, staff at the park offered them a hot drink and a speedy pass for another ride. But she said they were 'drenched' and 'cold' and 'just wanted to go home' after the ordeal.

The Big One remained closed for the rest of the day. A spokesperson for Blackpool Pleasure Beach said: "At 2.50pm on Tuesday 11th April, Blackpool Pleasure Beach stopped the Big One train on the ride’s lift hill due to sudden changes in weather conditions.

"Guests on the ride were reassured and escorted from the ride by Blackpool Pleasure Beach staff. Due to high gusts of wind the Big One rollercoaster closed for the remainder of the day."

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