Rescued rollercoaster rider is ready to go again

A thrill-seeking father who was rescued from a rollercoaster has vowed to go back on it "as soon as it reopens" despite having "a moment of anxiety" when it broke down.

Simon Davies was one of 27 people who found themselves stranded on the Wipeout ride at Pleasurewood Hills, in Lowestoft, Suffolk, on Bank Holiday Monday.

The 55-year-old, who lives near Norwich, told the BBC he was the first to be removed from the ride and taken to safety by firefighters after being stuck for about an hour.

Despite his ordeal, Davies, who said he had been on the ride at least 30 times already this year with his 14-year-old son, has not been put off returning to the theme park.

"We have a lot of experience of theme parks and are aware that all rides, which are working non-stop for hours, are going to break down from time to time," he said.

"It will not stop us from riding any ride again, including Wipeout, as soon as it is open again."

Davies, who has a season pass, said the ride first stopped before getting to the top, but he was "not too concerned" because he trusts the maintenance staff to "have a plan".

After 15 minutes and being spoken to by a maintenance worker, he said they were "suddenly released and dropped quickly" before the carriages went round the loop.

"At this point I knew something was wrong and there was a moment of anxiety," he said.

"But when we settled into the middle of the cobra roll, I wasn't worried really, I just knew that it was going to be much more difficult to get us down."

Davies' son - who is autistic and has learning difficulties – was watching on from the ground below, having already been on the ride that day with his dad.

"I could see him all the time and because we visit the park very often, most of the staff know him and I could see there was someone with him all the time," he said.

"They made sure he was sitting out of the way of emergency vehicles and even gave him a drink - he was mostly just annoyed he couldn't go on any rides while he waited.

"I cannot fault the way the staff dealt with the situation. The first fire engine arrived incredibly quickly, but the staff already had two types of cherry picker in place."

Fire crews from from Ipswich East, Ixworth, Lowestoft South were called to Pleasurewood Hills at 13:36 BST after the ride's carriages came to a stop about 15m (49ft) in the air in an upright position.

Using an aerial ladder and a scissor lift, they rescued all 27 passengers with no reported injuries.

Mel Buck, station manager at Lowestoft South, said the call-out was "not expected" but stressed that crews were "highly trained" to deal with such situations.

"We got to [the passengers] quite quickly, reassured them, they were talked through everything, and they were really helpful and calm," he said.

"The park staff were absolutely amazing, there were a lot of people involved, we worked very well together, and it was a safe outcome for everybody."

In a statement issued on Monday, Pleasurewood Hills "sincerely apologised" to the visitors affected and said they would receive complimentary tickets as compensation.

They also praised the way staff handled the situation and thanked families for their "understanding and patience".

The BBC contacted the theme park but was told no further comment would be made at this stage.

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