SIX holidaymakers were trapped - three of them upside down - when a fairground ride jammed on Blackpool promenade on Tuesday (September 21) evening.

Three members of a Bristol family, including two girls aged 10 and 12, were held upside down, 20 feet up, for about half-an-hour while firefighters struggled to set them free from the Move-It ride outside the Sandcastle leisure complex.

Three young men from Oldham, held in by safety devices at ground level, were the first to be released. All six were treated for trauma and suspected whiplash, but none needed to be detained in hospital.

Leading firefighter Ian Luckock said: "The children were upset. They were suffering shock as well as whiplash, they were very distressed and the longer it went on the more frightened they got.

"We used a turntable ladder to get to them. The problem was to make sure they didn't fall out when the hydraulic system was released, so we used our equipment to retain them until we could get them out one at a time."

A police spokesman said it appeared a major mechanical fault had triggered an emergency stop, resulting in an empty carriage grating on the steel flooring. The unlucky riders were the Hodge family - Emma, aged 10, Toni, 12 and Michael, 34 - from Bristol, James Barfoot, 18, Chris Culverwell, 18, and Darrel Coope, 16, all from Oldham.

The Move-It is operated on a concession basis by amusement company Gore and DeKoning. Owner Gary Gore said: "Unfortunately by the time I was able to get there the people had already left, but I do want to pass my apologies to them - it must have been upsetting, particularly for the children. My main concern was that nobody was seriously hurt."

The ride was only 18 months old, he said, it was checked every day and had all the necessary safety certificates. "We are a biggish firm operating rides all over the country and we have a good safety record," said Mr Gore.

The ride would not be re-opened until safety experts had given the all-clear. Officials from the Health and Safety Executive were yesterday investigating the cause of the accident.

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