Second Alton Towers ride is forced to close - only a week after another rollercoaster crash left a teenager with amputated leg

Parents and children were strapped to harnesses had to slowly descend from the Octonauts Rollercoaster Adventure

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))

A second ride at Alton Towers has been forced to close – just a week after a major rollercoater crash in which five people were left seriously injured.

Yesterday, parents and children were clipped to harnesses and forced to slowly descend the steps on the Octonauts Rollercoaster Adventure in the park’s CBeebies Land which the park blamed on a guest becoming “agitated.”

An eyewitness who was on another ride at the park at the time the malfunction occurred described how he could hear children shouting nearby. He said: “I glanced over and noticed a guy with a safety harnesses on.

“At that point, Alton Towers operatives with helmets and harnesses on were involved. There was a lady next to me whose son was really distressed and she was shouting up to him to stay calm and that everything would be all right.”

The man went on to express his surprise at the lack of care shown by the park staff as he, his wife and children decided to leave: “They [the staff] did absolutely nothing to stop the children and parents – going into that part of the park – from witnessing what was going on.

“On the way out, we went into the guest services bit of the park where I asked if it was possible to speak to somebody about the incident. I was told they could do a customer feedback questionnaire. I said: ‘Are you being serious?’”

Yesterday’s events will put the theme park under further scrutiny after last week’s crash on its Smiler ride which led to 17-year-old Leah Washington having her leg amputated.

The theme park said yesterday in a statement: “On 10 June, an incident occurred when, for unknown reasons, a guest became agitated on the Octonauts Rollercoaster Adventure. In line with standard procedures, this led to the ride being evacuated.

“Alton Towers resort staff followed all normal processes to ensure guests were taken off the ride quickly and safely.”

Following on from the Smiler incident, the park is estimated to be paying-out over a million pounds in compensation to those affected.