Pleasure Beach fan buys piece of attraction's history
Kyle WilcockA Blackpool Pleasure Beach superfan is over the moon now he owns a piece of the attraction's history.
The nine feet tall (2.7m) miner - complete with boots, bobble hat and mining lamp - used to welcome visitors to the theme park's River Caves ride.
Kyle Wilcock said he was "absolutely amazed" when he saw it for sale online after missing out on buying it a few years ago.
The 26-year old, from Oldham, said: "He's currently in my back garden, where I think he'll be for a long time because it did take five of us to get it there."
'I've got to have it'
"We picked him up from York with a man and a van.
"It took four of us to get it into the van then five of us to move it from the van into my garden.
"It's a very, very heavy statue, it's probably over 100kg (220lbs)."
The statue started off on the Tom Sawyer raft ride which was there from the early 70s to the early 90s and then it moved to the front of the River Caves.
"It looks a bit like a sort of fisherman or a miner and he's holding a lamp," Kyle said.
"When he was on the ride, when the Pleasure Beach used to put the lights on at night and light all the rides up, the lamp would actually light up as well."
It no longer lights up, but Kyle is "looking at alternatives" so it will do again "because I'm not sure the wiring would pass today's standards".
Kyle and his partner Alana have season passes for the theme park and "we're up there as much as we possibly can".
He said: "I often look for Blackpool Pleasure Beach items on Facebook marketplace just to see if anything interesting comes up, and I was absolutely amazed when it came up because it was something I was really keen on getting.
"I tried to get it when the Pleasure Beach sold it in 2020 but another buyer beat me to it unfortunately, so when it came up the second time round I thought 'I've got to have it'," he said.
The attraction has previously sold off old stock including original 1930s rollercoaster carriages, water boats and a space invader car.
And Kyle is keen for more memorabilia to join his giant statue.
"There's a ride called Steeplechase, from the late 70s, where you sit on a horse and go round a track, and I want one of those.
"They come up from time to time, so I'll keep my eye out for one."
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