Alton Towers visitors climb down Oblivion as ride stops before 180-foot-drop

Visitors at Alton Towers had to be evacuated and had to climb down the Oblivion rollercoaster at the Staffordshire theme park on the hottest day of the year.

Some took to social media to describe the precautionary measures taken, as the country recorded its highest ever temperature on record.Witness Dean detailed the measured way things were being handled, writing on Twitter:

"Preparations are underway to evacuate the riders from the shuttle at the top, clearly the ride cannot be re-started at this point in time."Guests are now being evacuated from the top, they have remained safe throughout the evacuation, with bottled water provided, and a harness to walk back down to the ground."

A spokesperson for Alton Towers said: "Oblivion experienced a routine stoppage. The ride performed exactly as it is designed to do."In line with our well-rehearsed procedures, guests were assisted from the ride and were immediately given water, food, hats and all left happy to continue on with their day at the park. At no point was guest safety compromised."Alton Towers said it was doing everything it could to keep visitors as safe and comfortable as possible while they enjoy the park's facilities.

"We are aware of the forecast of hot temperatures in the coming week and will be taking the appropriate precautions to ensure our guests can continue to enjoy a magical and safe day out our attractions," said a spokesperson for Alton Towers."The health and safety of our guests and staff is our number one priority so our attractions will be operating with additional precautions for the hot weather, including free water top -ups and sun cream located at multiple points across the park, as well as additional water bottles and welfare breaks for our staff."Each Merlin attraction has a different set of experiences and our dedicated Health & Safety teams will continue to monitor the situation. We encourage guests to check with the attraction website for updates and top tips to prepare ahead of their visit."