Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Crowd stuck high up after ‘rollercoaster breaks down’ at Blackpool Pleasure Beach

Reports say Britain’s tallest ride stopped on a peak with a cart full of passengers

Liam James
Friday 02 September 2022 09:29 EDT
Comments
Related: Blackpool: Adrenalin count rises with new £16m rollercoaster

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Thrillseekers at Blackpool Pleasure Beach were left stranded on top of Britain’s tallest rollercoaster after it broke down halfway up an incline.

Local news reported that the passengers were temporarily stuck on the Lancashire park’s hallmark Big One, or Pepsi Max, ride on Thursday afternoon.

Footage from the park shows passengers stuck at the top of the peaks and bends of the ride. Some passengers were seen standing up as the cart was at a standstill.

An eyewitness told LancsLive: “I spotted passengers from a car on the Big One stationary on the platform near the end of the ride getting out of their seats.

“The ride appears to be broken down.”

The Big One is Britain’s tallest rollercoaster at 235ft and hurtles passengers around its more than one mile of track at up to 85mph.

It has towered over Blackpool since 1994 and is commonly known as the Pepsi Max ride due to an early sponsorship deal with the makers of the soft drink.

Blackpool Pleasure Beach is no stranger to ride breakdowns. The Big One was last reported to have broken down in May, stalling on the ascent and leaving riders stuck for more than 20 minutes.

Visitors are helped down from the Grand National in June 2021
Visitors are helped down from the Grand National in June 2021 (PA)

Last July, around 30 people had to be rescued after the amusement park’s 83-year-old Grand National ride broke down near the top of an incline.

Staff had to climb the 63ft wooden structure to escort passengers down to safety.

LancsLive quoted a theme park expert explaining what could be behind the ride’s abrupt stopping.

They said: “It’s likely that it’s running on a two-train service, and one train has needed to be stopped immediately before entering the station, changing a wheel perhaps, and that’s just the zone where the other train would stop should that be the case.”

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in