UK's oldest rollercoaster closed after 'crunch'

The UK's oldest surviving rollercoaster is still closed following what visitors described as an "enormous crunch".

On 10 August, there was a fault on the Scenic Railway at Dreamland in Margate which damaged pieces of the wooden track.

Dreamland said the ride would be out of action while engineers carried out a full investigation and the track was repaired.

Chatham resident Micah Fagan, who was planning to go on the ride shortly before the incident, said: "I heard an enormous crunch of wood splitting... it didn’t sound right."

Mr Fagan said his partner also saw the damage happen and added everyone involved in the incident, including staff, were "super calm".

He said: “It is one of the main attractions of Dreamland. If you are from the area you have always known about it.”

Dreamland said the ride automatically stopped as a result of the incident, passengers were escorted off the ride and given a precautionary check by its first aid team.

They said: "The ride is currently not in operation whilst the qualified engineers carry out a full investigation and track damage is repaired."

The Scenic Railway was built in 1920 and is the fourth oldest surviving rollercoaster in the world.

Dreamland has been contacted for more information on when the ride will reopen.

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