Don't click on the Daily mail link, I've already copy and pasted the story below
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...ly-hour-Spinball-Wizard-ride-breaks-down.html
Alton Towers thrillseekers are trapped on rollercoaster for nearly an hour when 56ft-high Spinball Wizard ride is halted in theme park's THIRD incident in just over a year
- Six people had to be rescued from ride that reaches speeds of 37mph
- Spinball Whizzer shut down as customers were rescued from a stuck car
- Alton Towers fined £5m over Smiler crash that cost two people their legs
Thrillseekers were left stranded on a 50ft-high Alton Towers rollercoaster for almost an hour today after it came to a sudden halt.
Six trapped riders - including one young girl - had to be rescued from the Spinball Whizzer by emergency workers after one of the cars got stuck on a steep descent.
It came just over one year after the horror crash on the park's Smiler ride which saw five people seriously injured – with two teenagers needing leg amputations.
Alton Towers confirmed the Spinball Whizzer - which rotates 360 degrees at high speed - was stopped at 1pm today after a guest entered a 'strictly prohibited' area.
'We can confirm Spinball Whizzer was routinely stopped at 13.05 today after a guest accessed a strictly prohibited ride area,' the spokesman said.
'In order to restart the ride, an assisted exit of the guests on board was necessary.
'The safety of our guests remains our upmost priority and at no point was the wellbeing of our guests compromised.'
Emergency workers with ropes had to help the victims down from the 50ft-high ride one-by-one.
Dozens of disgruntled visitors took to Twitter today to complain about the broken down rides.
Sam van Deventer, who asked for a refund, wrote: 'We've been here for hours and have not been on a single ride, all faulty!'
Another wrote: 'Not worth the money today. Sort your rides out. Scarefest? More like queue for broken rides fest. #altontowers #scarefest.'
One visitor said: '
@AltonTowers having an absolute shocker today, if you're thinking of coming don't bother as rides breaking down all day #altontowers.'
It is the latest in a series of incidents to blight the theme park in Staffordshire.
The Smiler rollercoaster broke down and left passengers trapped in the air for more than an hour on September 1.
Footage showed more than a dozen riders stuck on the 14 multi-loop ride, with their carriages stationary on the track.
This came just weeks before the operator of the park, Merlin Attractions, was found to be at fault for the horror crash on June 2 last year.
An investigation found human error caused the crash and the operator was fined £5million.
Judge Michael Chambers QC, passing sentence at Stafford Crown Court, called the accident a 'catastrophic failure' by the company involving basic health and safety measures.
Dancer Vicky Balch and student Leah Washington underwent leg amputations after their carriage collided with a stationary car on the track.