Rollercoaster riders rescued after Blackpool breakdown

Visitors are helped down from the Grand National rollercoaster ride at Blackpool Pleasure Beach.
Visitors are helped down from the Grand National rollercoaster ride at Blackpool Pleasure Beach Credit: Owen Humphreys/PA Wire/PA Images

About 30 people including a five-year-old boy had to be rescued from a rollercoaster in Blackpool.

The wooden, twin-track Grand National ride, built in 1935, broke down at midday on Tuesday.

Staff at the Blackpool Pleasure Beach attraction had to climb up the ride, which stands 62 feet (19m) high, to escort nervous thrill-seekers back to the ground.

Visitors are helped down from the Grand National rollercoaster ride at Blackpool Pleasure Beach Credit: Owen Humphreys/PA Wire/PA Images

At about the same time, another rollercoaster at the same amusement park, the giant Big One, also suffered a temporary stoppage, but riders were able to remain seated and the ride continued five minutes later.

Visitors are helped down from the Grand National rollercoaster ride at Blackpool Pleasure Beach Credit: Owen Humphreys/PA Wire/PA Images

Steve Ely, from Sheffield, South Yorkshire, on the Grand National ride with his two children, tweeted a photo of the ride stuck at the top of an incline on the roller-coaster.