New £8.7m 'pendulum' Pleasure Beach ride being built

Opening next year, Aviktas will be a giant spinning pendulum giving "epic views of the coastline"

Construction has started on a new £8.7m ride at Blackpool's Pleasure Beach Resort.

Due to open next year, it will be a giant spinning pendulum that swings as 40 riders face outwards with their legs dangling reaching 138ft (42m) at its highest point.

It is almost double the size of a similar gyro swing - Drayton Manor's Maelstrom - and will be called Aviktas.

The new ride will have "epic views of the coastline", the attraction, formerly known as Blackpool Pleasure Beach, said.

Last month piling work - the process of driving structural piles into the ground to create a strong foundation to build on - was completed, and the parts of the ride have now arrived.

More than 200 letters from fans across the UK and Europe were buried underneath the spot where Aviktas will stand for a time capsule, also containing photos of staff, and blueprints for the ride.