Alton Towers to reopen Smiler rollercoaster after crash - but victims accuse it of putting profits before people

Sixteen people were hurt in the crash in June last year, which park owner Merlin Entertainments said was due to human error

Alton Towers has been accused of putting profits before people by victims (MEPICS)

Alton Towers has been accused of putting profits before people by victims of the Smiler rollercoaster crash, ahead of its planned reopening this weekend.

Speaking on the eve of the new season, Vicky Balch, who along with another passenger Leah Washington had to have a leg amputated, said she wished the ride would remain closed.

"I've never wanted it to reopen, that's just the obvious reaction,” she told ITV News. "I understand it's a business and it's what they have to do. I just didn't think it'd be so soon, it's only nine months, it's not a very long time.

The 20-year-old from Grimsargh, Lancashire added: "At the end of the day it feels like the money comes before the people on the ride."

Her views were echoed by Joe Pugh, whose kneecaps were shattered when the front carriage he was travelling in smashed into another car.

He told the broadcaster: "I think it would have been a bit unrealistic if we had both said 'I don't think it's ever going to reopen again' because it always was going to, but if people choose to go on it, that's up to them.

He added: "Seeing it go round, it's not something that I want to see. I would have preferred for it to be closed."

The 19-year-old from Barnsley said that the survivors has been coping “better than people probably expect” adding that they were “just trying to keep positive all the time and actually realising how far we've come and how well we have actually done."

Ms Washington also told the programme that the recovery process was “a bit like a rollercoaster.”

“I get to a good point, then something will happen and it brings you back down, and then you'll get to another good point and then you'll get down again,” she said. "It's our parents that have struggled the most with emotional stuff, we kind of help them because we're so positive.”

In total 16 people were hurt in the June crash, which park owner Merlin Entertainments said was due to human error.

The Health and Safety Executive is prosecuting Merlin over the crash and the company is due in court in late April.

Gill Riley, Marketing Director at Alton Towers, said: “We do understand how the injured and their families are feeling and we have been in conversation with the families on an ongoing basis.”

She added: “However, as we stated last year, our own investigations did show the ride itself was not at fault and the ride has been independently certified as safe to operate.