Crowd stuck high up after ‘rollercoaster breaks down’ at Blackpool Pleasure Beach

Reports say Britain’s tallest ride stopped on a peak with a cart full of passengers

Thrillseekers at Blackpool Pleasure Beach were left stranded on top of Britain’s tallest rollercoaster after it broke down halfway up an incline.

Local news reported that the passengers were temporarily stuck on the Lancashire park’s hallmark Big One, or Pepsi Max, ride on Thursday afternoon.

Footage from the park shows passengers stuck at the top of the peaks and bends of the ride. Some passengers were seen standing up as the cart was at a standstill.

An eyewitness told LancsLive: “I spotted passengers from a car on the Big One stationary on the platform near the end of the ride getting out of their seats.

“The ride appears to be broken down.”

The Big One is Britain’s tallest rollercoaster at 235ft and hurtles passengers around its more than one mile of track at up to 85mph.

It has towered over Blackpool since 1994 and is commonly known as the Pepsi Max ride due to an early sponsorship deal with the makers of the soft drink.

Blackpool Pleasure Beach is no stranger to ride breakdowns. The Big One was last reported to have broken down in May, stalling on the ascent and leaving riders stuck for more than 20 minutes.

Visitors are helped down from the Grand National in June 2021 (PA)

Last July, around 30 people had to be rescued after the amusement park’s 83-year-old Grand National ride broke down near the top of an incline.

Staff had to climb the 63ft wooden structure to escort passengers down to safety.

LancsLive quoted a theme park expert explaining what could be behind the ride’s abrupt stopping.

They said: “It’s likely that it’s running on a two-train service, and one train has needed to be stopped immediately before entering the station, changing a wheel perhaps, and that’s just the zone where the other train would stop should that be the case.”