Dozens trapped on Chessington theme park ride

Thirty-nine people, mainly children, were stranded on a ride for more than three hours.

The thrill-seekers were trapped 20ft (6m) in the air on the Rameses Revenge at Chessington World of Adventures.

The attraction is a top spin ride opened in 1995 that sees two rows of people suspended above jets of water before plummeting towards the ground.

Fire crews cut the safety harnesses and brought the trapped riders to the ground on ladders.

'Sun cream'

London Fire Brigade station manager Justin Coo said: "No injuries have been reported though a few people are understandably a bit uncomfortable as they had been stuck for some time."

He said about 20 firefighters were called to the Surrey theme park just after 17:00 BST and spent three and a half hours cutting the restraints off those stranded.

"Two people suffered asthma attacks and two were treated for anxiety whilst stuck on the ride," he told BBC News.

One mother whose 13-year-old daughter was on board said the ride stopped at about 16:00 BST when the electrics failed.

Speaking to Sky News at the time of the incident she said: "They have been sending up water and sun cream to them because it was rather hot initially.

"They were on the ride for 90 minutes before the fire and rescue service came out to them."

In a statement Chessington said a technical problem led to "the automatic fail-safe system bringing the ride to a controlled stop".

"We are very sorry for any discomfort our guests experienced during the delay."

The ride will be open again on Monday.