Terrifying moment thrillseekers were forced to walk to safety after Thorpe Park rollercoaster aborted 45mph ride because of safety fears

This is the terrifying moment thrillseekers were evacuated from near the top of a 100ft rollercoaster at Thorpe Park after it ground to a halt mid-ride.

People were escorted from Colossus after staff spotted one rider putting their leg outside of the cart of the 45mph ride on CCTV at around 11am yesterday.

The clip shows some guests being escorted down the steep stairs at the side of the track while others remain seated on the precariously placed carriages.

An eyewitness said that around 20 people were stuck around 75 ft in the air for an hour and a half in the rain at the park in Chertsey, Surrey.

But staff said no-one was hurt in Thorpe Park, which is owned by Merlin Entertainments, which also owns Alton Towers, where 16 people were injured on The Smiler last year.

The company has admitted health and safety breaches and could face a fine running into millions of pounds, as well as personal injury claims from the victims.

Two of those victims, Vicky Balch and Leah Washington, needed a leg amputated following the crash, which changed their lives in an instant.

Although the halt at Thorpe Park was for safety reasons, and staff insist there was no malfunction.

Henry Moody, 14, who was visiting with his family said: 'Colossus was late to open and before it opened they were doing some checks at the top of the ride. Staff were walking up and down.

'Later on, at about 11am, the ride opened up whilst I was queuing for another ride.

'The next thing I saw, Colossus was stuck at the top of the lift with people stranded up there and it was in the rain as well.

'Then it took about an hour and a half until they were evacuated. There were about 20 people in the carriage. They were sitting on the ride for an hour and a half in the rain.