Visitors stranded on rides by power cut

ONE of Britain’s most popular theme parks was branded “disgusting” last night after a widespread power cut left visitors stranded on rides and sparked half-term chaos.

Thousands of frustrated parents and children left Chessington World of Adventures after the power cut yesterday afternoon brought rollercoaster rides to a halt.

The power cut, which affected a wide area of the village of Chessington, Surrey, was believed to have been caused by an underground cable fault.

Staff at the site had to carry out several high-level rescues from some of the rides when they stopped in mid-air.

Visitors described “gridlock” in the car park as families tried to leave the park having been told they could only return before the end of July as recompense for their “ruined” day out.

One visitor, Lauren Green, said her six-year-old son Thomas was “devastated” after the rides shut down.

Lauren, from east London, said: “The way Chessington have handled this is disgusting. People have paid hundreds of pounds to get here and they have been left with nothing. My son is absolutely devastated. There was no food available and just one person handing out tap water.

“They were cutting down people from rides. “Our day has been ruined.” One visitor said on social media: “They are having to rescue people stuck on rides at Chessington. I’m never going to a theme park again.”

Another person said on Twitter: “Stuck at Chessington. Power cut and we are all stuck, no rides, can’t even get out of the park because of the barrier. Disappointed kids is an understatement.”

A spokesman for Chessington World of Adventures said no one was injured and added: “We can confirm that several high-level evacuations had to be carried out. We have a well rehearsed procedure for such events.

“As a result we have re-validated all the tickets of those in the park so that they can re-visit on another day between now and July 31.”