"The scariest experience of my life": Young woman left in shock after fairground ride falls apart while 200ft in the air

The 23-year-old clung to the ropes of the "Star Flyer" ride at a Christmas fair in Edinburgh

A 23-year-old woman was “sure [she] was going to die” as she gripped to the ropes across her seat on a fairground ride 200ft in the air after a part of her chair came away.

Darcy Gordon, who has a four-year-old son, was riding on the “Star Flyer” swing at a Christmas fair in Edinburgh on Friday 13 December as the casing of her fibre-glass seat fell to the ground.

The ride was closed for maintenance earlier on in the day, and members of the public were allowed back on at around 5pm.

When the 23-year-old supermarket worker from Motherwell, North Lanarkshire, got off the £7.50 ride, she vomited and was left in a state of shock.

She was sharing the ride with her friend Chris Cardwell when the plastic moulding from their seat broke off and bounced off the ride’s box office and hit the floor.

After being strapped in, Mr Cardwell asked Miss Gordon not to “move about so much” as he became concerned by the chair.

Miss Gordon said: “I asked him why and he said he’d tell me after the ride, he didn’t want to worry me as he knew I’d freak out. Seconds later it had fallen off”

She said: “We had just got to the top when I felt the back of the seat come away but the ride kept on going and we were clinging to the ropes at the side.

She said the incident lasted “about two minutes” but “it felt a lot, lot longer”.

“I was sure that I was going to die. I was waiting for us to fall or fly off into a building or something. My arms are still hurting me because I was gripping on so tight.”

She added: “None of the staff showed any concern towards us - they just kept saying “keep walking”.”

“I couldn’t move I was in so much shock. I was shaking and really could not move.

“It was the scariest experience of my life but they were more concerned about getting me away. It’s disgusting how they have treated us, they never once asked how we were.”

As she clutched onto the ropes, the screen of her phone in her pocket cracked.

The ride’s owners have agreed to refund her money and repair her phone.

A spokesman for Edinburgh’s Christmas said: “Detailed safety inspections were carried out on Saturday following the incident and the ride has been inspected to the satisfaction of an independent safety inspector and expert in amusement rides.

“The incident is completely unrelated to the maintenance which was carried out on the ride earlier in the day on Friday December 13 and which was part of the routine maintenance to the ride,” he added.

No passers-by were injured when the casing fell to the ground.