Blackpool Pleasure Beach: Grand National rollercoaster riders rescued

The ride broke down close to the top of its lift hill

About 30 people have had to be rescued from a rollercoaster after it stopped mid-ride.

The Grand National at Blackpool Pleasure Beach broke down at about 11:55 BST as it approached the peak of a 62ft (19m) incline.

Staff had to escort those on board, including a five-year-old boy, back down the steep track.

A spokesman for the theme park said that, following checks, the ride was reopened an hour later.

Sheffield's Steve Ely, who was riding with his two children, tweeted a photograph of the stuck carriage and criticised the park for offering only a bottle of water as compensation.

Everybody on board was forced to climb back down the track while the ride was fixed

A spokesman for the park said a "stoppage occurred on the lift hill" of the ride, which was built in 1935, and "all riders were safely escorted down".

He added that the ride was checked and reopened just before 13:00.

He said there had also been "a very brief stoppage" on the lift hill of the park's largest ride, the Big One, at about the same time, but its riders "remained seated and the ride continued after five minutes".

The park reopened on 12 April, after being shut for months due to Covid restrictions.

Two weeks later, riders on the Big One had to be escorted down after the ride broke down.

It reopened later that day.