Great Yarmouth Pleasure Beach log flume carriage bought for £964

A woman who paid £964 for a log flume carriage in a charity auction said it was "absolutely worth it".

Jayne Banks, 45, from Cleckheaton in West Yorkshire, said she had been visiting Great Yarmouth Pleasure Beach since she was a child.

She said it was "absolutely amazing" to own part of the Norfolk town's history.

The Pleasure Beach said its ride, which was 30 years old, had been dismantled due to the prohibitive financial investment needed to keep it running.

Ms Banks bid for the log flume on eBay at the weekend, and paid the top price, so far, for one of the carriages, which are all being sold off.

She said her family ties to Norfolk meant that she had watched the ride being assembled when she was a teenager.

"I did get a bit silly, because I was in a bit of a bidding war with somebody else who was quite desperate for it," she said.

"But yes, it was absolutely [worth it]. Yarmouth has become more like home, and I just wanted to own an actual real piece of Yarmouth history."

As an adult she visits the seaside town three or four times a year.

"I just feel an inner peace there, it sounds corny. I just feel happy," she said.

Ms Banks got engaged at the Pleasure Beach in 2002 and spent her honeymoon there in 2004.

"I'd go to Great Yarmouth rather than go abroad, anytime," she said.

Her husband laughed when she told him of her purchase and described her as "crackers".

The couple recently bought a caravan in Great Yarmouth and hope to be able to keep the log flume carriage at their site.

She plans to get creative and "do something fun" with the log flume.

"Ultimately, my favourite ride is obviously the roller coaster," she said.

"My other little passion is the snail. If a snail ever came up for sale from Joyland, I think I'd go crazy bidding on that, because that's my ultimate favourite thing about Yarmouth.

"We have to go on it once a year, usually on my birthday."

Money raised from the sale of the carriages will go to charity, the Pleasure Beach said.

A new ride, Musik Express, is due to open in 2023.

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