Alton Towers: Rollercoaster riders stuck on Air ride describe 'horrible' moment they were left hanging in searing temperatures

One of the riders trapped on the Air ride yesterday said "It was horrible, the heat was ridiculous and we were suspended face down in the air"

The theme park have been forced to apologise after eye-witnesses and people on board have said they were stuck in searing temperatures (Christopher Furlong (Getty Images News))

Rollercoaster riders left hanging face down in mid-air on the hottest day of the year after a malfunction at Alton Towers have spoken about their “horrible” experience.

The theme park has been forced to apologise after 80 people were stuck for up to an hour at the park in searing temperatures.

Some were left hanging on the Air monorail ride for up to 30 minutes - though the park insists the delay was no more than 20 minutes.

One rider, who has chosen to remain anonymous, told the Mirror: “I think it was about half an hour in total. It was horrible, the heat was ridiculous anyway and we were suspended face down in the air. I started feeling really light-headed and was worried I would faint. The staff were excellent but it ruined my day, we just went straight home.“

Eye-witness Richard Smith, 34, said: ”We were just queuing for Nemesis and we noticed the ride had stopped. The park attendants were up on the tracks talking to the passengers on Air.“

An Alton Towers spokeswoman said: “Air had a minor technical stoppage yesterday afternoon. The whole process of clearing guests from the area took 20 minutes which is within standard operating procedures. The ride opened shortly after.”

“Guests (and the media) are more focused on any minor delay or technical stoppage at the current time, but any delays that we are experiencing now are within our expected level and are being dealt with according to our stringent processes; rides will reopen as appropriate.

She added: “Everyone was off the ride in 20 minutes – all other reports are incorrect.”

Two Monorail trains at the resort also stopped yesterday at 5:25pm leaving eighty people trapped during the heat wave.

The park said that it took an hour to walk all 80 people off the Monorail using the evacuation walkways.

Yesterday’s incidents at the park come after four people were injured on the Smiler ride when a carriage collided with an empty carrier on 2 June.

Vicky Balch, 20, and Leah Washington, 17, were the most seriously injured, with both having had parts of their legs amputated.