Scottish man's 'heart stopped' after getting stuck on UK's highest rollercoaster at Blackpool Pleasure Beach

A thrill-seeker revealed his “heart nearly stopped” after he had to be rescued from the UK’s highest rollercoaster due to weather conditions.

Leo McMullin, from Glasgow, was enjoying a birthday trip to Blackpool’s Pleasure Beach when he ran into difficulty on board The Big One on Tuesday.

The 23-year-old and his friends were left stranded 235ft in the air after the attraction was forced to stop due to high gusts of wind.

Theme park staff led the stranded group down the tracks of the rollercoaster, which stands at 235ft (71m), and the ride was cancelled for the rest of the day.

Leo revealed people on the ride “were in bits” as they were led down the steep tracks in poor weather conditions with no health and safety measures.

The group were led down the ride with no safety measures. Leo Mcmullin via Supplied

He told STV News: “We were 235ft up in the air, and we only noticed it had stopped after around five seconds.

“A guy walked up and told us it would be starting again, before five other people walked up and told us we had to get out.

“They said it was due to a change in weather.

“When we got out on the tracks, there was no health and safety at all and it was really rainy and windy.

“The scariest part was getting out of the rollercoaster as we were the last carriage and if we fell backwards there was nothing to catch us walking.

“My heart nearly stopped.”

Leo and his friends were offered fast track to the next attraction. Leo Mcmullin via

The Big One, which has a maximum speed of 85mph and lasts three minutes, opened to the public in 1994.

People can pay to walk the ride once a month with full safety equipment.

Leo has said the experience has not put him off future rollercoasters, and accepted the offer of a fast track to the next attraction from staff at the park.

“To be fair, it’s not really put me off in the future. Other people on the ride were in bits though.

“They didn’t offer anything to us apart from fast track to The Icon.”

A Blackpool Pleasure Beach spokeswoman confirmed the ride was stopped “due to sudden changes in weather conditions”.

She said: “Guests on the ride were reassured and escorted from the ride by Blackpool Pleasure Beach staff.

“Due to high gusts of wind, The Big One rollercoaster closed for the remainder of the day.”