A bad day at Southport Pleasureland as rides failed and people had to be rescued by cherry picker

At Southport Pleasureland today, Saturday 27th August, a ride broke down half way around whilst people were stuck mid-ride. The emergency services were in attendance including the Merseyside Fire Brigade and Ambulance services.

A young girl fainted and was unconscious so the Pleasureland staff wanted to get her off the ride first, they used a cherry picker to get the young girl off the ride safely. It took approximately 90 minutes to get all the other people safely back on the ground.

A short time after the incident, a second ride, the Log Flume, also broke down with people stuck on it. They subsequently had to be escorted off by staff down the safety ramp to the ground.

A bystander said: “After watching the two incidents, we were concerned and then we heard that the Carousel Swings also had tenichal issues. At that point, we found a member of staff, handed in our wristbands and we requested a refund because we didn't feel safe.”

Southport Pleasureland is an amusement park located in Southport, Merseyside, England. The park originally operated from 1913 to 2006 as Pleasureland Theme Park under the ownership of the Blackpool Pleasure Beach company. In 2007, the park re-opened under the ownership of Norman Wallis.

Photos by Michael Bowman