Twenty-seven riders have been rescued from the Wipeout rollercoaster at Pleasurewood Hills in Lowestoft after the attraction stopped with passengers stranded around 50ft above the ground on Bank Holiday Monday.
Firefighters spent several hours bringing passengers down from the Suffolk theme park’s flagship coaster on August 31. All 27 were rescued and no injuries were reported, but the reason the ride stopped has not yet been officially established.
PLEASUREWOOD HILLS WIPEOUT: LATEST
Passengers: 27
Height when stopped: About 15m (49-50ft)
Upside down: No
Fire service called: 1.26pm
Rescue: Aerial ladder and scissor lift
Injuries: None reported
Cause: Not officially confirmed
What happened on Wipeout?
Suffolk Fire and Rescue Service was called to Pleasurewood Hills at 1.26pm after Wipeout’s carriages came to a stop on the track.
The official fire service incident report said the carriages were approximately 15 metres above ground. Despite Wipeout being an inverting coaster, officials stressed that the stranded carriage was not upside down.
Crews from Ipswich East, Ixworth and Lowestoft South attended. An aerial ladder and scissor lift were used to reach the passengers and evacuate them safely.
The fire service recorded the incident as ending at 4.05pm. A later update confirmed that all 27 people had been rescued without reported injuries.
Were passengers trapped for three hours?
The rescue operation lasted much of the afternoon, with some riders reportedly waiting for up to around three hours before being brought down.
Visitor Richard Lines, who was at the park with his two children, described watching firefighters remove passengers one at a time. Those evacuated later in the operation faced the longest waits.
For families at the park, the timing made the disruption particularly noticeable: Monday was the final day of Pleasurewood Hills’ summer season, with extended opening hours planned for the Bank Holiday.
Did a power cut stop the rollercoaster?
There is currently no confirmed cause.
Lines reported what appeared to be a power interruption affecting multiple attractions while he was elsewhere in the park. However, neither the fire service nor a confirmed technical investigation has established that a power cut caused Wipeout to stop.
A parent whose children were aboard also gave an account of the coaster becoming stuck on the back straight before subsequently moving slowly and eventually coming to rest. That remains an eyewitness description rather than an official technical finding.
Until Pleasurewood Hills provides further details, claims of a specific electrical or mechanical failure should therefore be treated cautiously.
What riders experienced
Karen Purkiss, whose children were reportedly on Wipeout, described the experience as frightening but praised the response from the park and emergency services.
Another visitor, Vicky Shackles, was at Pleasurewood Hills with her nine-year-old daughter Esme. Esme had considered trying Wipeout for the first time but decided against riding before it departed. Her mother later said seeing the incident would likely delay her daughter’s first attempt until another visit.
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How tall is Pleasurewood Hills’ Wipeout?
Wipeout stands more than 40 metres (131ft) tall, considerably higher than the approximately 15-metre position where Monday’s passengers became stranded.
The rollercoaster opened at Pleasurewood Hills in 2007 and became one of the park’s signature attractions. Its boomerang-style layout sends riders through inversions before travelling backwards over the course.
The incident comes relatively soon after a major investment in the attraction. Wipeout underwent a reported £1 million transformation during winter 2024-25, including a new train fitted with waist-restraint lap bars.
There is currently no evidence connecting that refurbishment with Monday’s stoppage.
Has Wipeout broken down before?
Wipeout has required an emergency response before. In 2017, firefighters were called after a breakdown and a passenger was rescued using a cherry picker.
No evidence has established that the earlier incident and Monday’s stoppage shared the same cause.
Is Wipeout closed now?
Pleasurewood Hills currently lists Wipeout as temporarily unavailable. No confirmed reopening date or technical explanation for the stoppage has been announced.
Visitors should check the park’s latest ride information before travelling specifically for Wipeout. The incident comes during a busy UK Bank Holiday period when families have also been checking Bank Holiday opening hours and schedule changes before heading out.
The Lowestoft rescue follows another recent emergency-service response in the region, the Norfolk bus crash in Ormesby St Margaret.
For Wipeout passengers, the immediate emergency is over: all 27 riders reached the ground safely and no injuries were reported. Attention now turns to why the coaster stopped and when Pleasurewood Hills will be able to return its flagship ride to operation.
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