KM reporters brave the runaway rollercoaster
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by Chris Hunter
Imagine the scene - you're enjoying a thrilling ride when
suddenly a freak storm hits the funfair, soaking the
rollercoaster track and causing the brakes to fail.
It's the stuff of nightmares, but it was a
nightmare that came true at Maidstone's Mote Park last
Sunday when children were left to ride a runaway roller
coaster as - below them - fairground workers battled
to stop the car.
Of course, one man's nightmare is another man's adrenaline
trip - and although a family from
Laddingford were left shaken by the experience, Monty Hammond
- owner of The World Wide Travelling Theme
Park - suggested the riders merely benefited from an
extended ride.
No one was at any risk, said Monty; the rollercoaster was
completely safe and had remained so even when its brakes weren't
working.
In the face of such contradicting evidence, only one
course lay before us at the Kent Messenger. Cue deep breaths and a
stiff drink...
... We would have to ride the rollercoaster itself.
Or to be more specific, I would, accompanied
by an equally intrepid photographer in the guise of Christina
Carapiet.
Look closely in this video, and behind the steel-eyed
countenances of two brave investigative journalists immune to fear,
you might perhaps, just for a split second, glimpse a
flickering glimmer of trepidation.
It's hard to see, but it's there, and as the gears groaned
and clanked and the rollercoaster edged its way to the
highest vertigo-inducing point of the track
- roughly 20ft high - I have to confess
we almost lost our resolve.
Was that a storm cloud brewing on the horizon? Would we be flung
to oblivion and beyond?
Watch the video and find out.
Friday, September 03 2010
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