Excitement at Alton Towers as Nemesis Reborn opens

Sapphire and Brandon Cloughley, from Kent, came dressed as SpongeBob SquarePants and his friend Patrick

There was plenty of excitement and very long queues as Alton Towers' revamped Nemesis rollercoaster welcomed thrill-seekers once more after a major overhaul.

The ride, which dates back to 1994 and originally cost £10m, closed in November 2022 for the work at the Staffordshire theme park.

It reopened on Saturday with the new name of Nemesis Reborn.

Some visitors told BBC Radio Stoke they had stayed in hotels and queued since the early hours to be among the first to experience it.

Sapphire and Brandon Cloughley, from Kent, came dressed as SpongeBob SquarePants and Patrick, his friend from the cartoon.

"We've been here literally since yesterday," Ms Cloughley said.

"I love it. It looks amazing. The colours are fantastic."

There were long queues of thrill-seekers as the ride opened once more

Ben and Hollie, from Nottingham, who run a YouTube channel called Ben and Hollie's Theme Park Adventures, were among the first off the ride.

The pair stayed in a hotel and got up at 05:30 GMT so they could be in the queue first.

"It's really good. I loved it and it's my favourite ever ride," a tired and excited Hollie said.

Her father described the ride as incredible and told how he had missed it during its closure.

"We got front row as well which is amazing," he added.

"The whole area is amazing. We've not had much chance to soak it up because we rushed straight into the queue."

As part of its overhaul, the entire track was replaced

When it opened 30 years ago, Nemesis featured what was at the time a revolutionary design.

It was one of the world's first inverted rollercoasters, with carriages riding under the track.

The ride on Saturday morning

As part of its overhaul, the entire 716m (2,349ft) track was replaced.

Bosses at the theme park described its new look as a fearsome creature with "fury heightened and more uncontrollable than ever before".

Part of the old carriages were recycled and used in the new ones for passengers.