Alton Towers ride: The Wicker Man rollercoaster evacuated at popular UK theme park as fire alarm triggered

Staff at the theme park say is the first time ever that the ride has had to be evacuated. Customers at the fan-favourite theme park were ushered from the The Wicker Man ride this afternoon (Saturday 14 September) after a fire alarm was activated.

An eyewitness told Express.co.uk the fire alarm was triggered during the early afternoon amid visible concern of the park's guests. Some, it is claimed, left their belongings behind to quickly leave the area as they had been asked to do. 

The paths near the massive ride were cleared, with "no one allowed near it", the eyewitness claimed. A spokesperson for Alton Towers Resort, said: “Following the activation of the fire alarm our teams followed normal procedures. Nothing of concern was found at the ride following our investigations.

“Our technical teams are working to reset the fire alarm. The safety of our guests is our number one priority and therefore we paused the ride and evacuated the queue line, as is our standard health and safety procedure.”

The incident comes after the ride was forced to close last month after smoke was seen coming up from the ride. A spokesperson for Alton Towers Resort at the time said: “Operations on Wicker Man were paused after reports of smoke in the ride area. Our technical team swiftly attended to the smoke and followed well-rehearsed procedures to quickly resolve the issue.

“Wicker Man is constructed with treated wood which inhibits fire ignition. At this stage we believe the cause of the smoke was the result of a foreign object. The safety of our guests is our top priority and the ride will be closed until further notice while we carry out essential maintenance.”

The Wicker Man opened at Alton Towers in the spring of 2018 at a cost of £16million. It was he first wooden roller coaster built in 21 years. It’s made from 7.5 thousand tons of wood and goes at up to 46 miles per hour.