A woman has revealed her horror after a Pleasurewood Hills ride malfunctioned while she and a disabled friend were onboard.

Laura Browne, from Norwich, visited the Lowestoft theme park with two friends last month.

The group had hoped to have a fun day out but left feeling "disturbed" by a malfunction on the supposedly family-friendly Egg-spress rollercoaster, formerly known as Snake in the Grass and Rattlesnake. 

Laura Browne visited Pleasurewood Hills with her friends Kim and Sarah (L-R)Laura Browne visited Pleasurewood Hills with her friends Kim and Sarah (L-R) (Image: Laura Browne)

"As we were taking off, the safety bar in front of me unlocked and just popped up," the 36-year-old explained. 

"I looked back at my friend who was sitting behind me and the same thing had happened to her.

"I grabbed it and held it down for the whole ride - I just wasn't going to risk letting go.

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"We were okay but if a child had been on board - or if my friend's disability was one that impeded her ability to hold the restraint down - it could have been worse."

She added she alerted the ride attendant immediately after it stopped.

They allegedly admitted they had seen it too but continued to let people board without further inspection.

A Pleasurewood Hills spokesman said Ms Browne did not speak with a member of the "management team" on the day and assured visitors that all the park's attractions are subject to "extensive safety maintenance checks in line with manufacturers guidelines".

These include daily pre-opening checks, weekly and monthly inspections which are carried out by the parks technical services team.

He said: "In addition to this each of our attractions is subject to an annual independent inspection by the Amusement Device Inspection Procedures Scheme (ADIPS).

"The safety of our guests and our team is our number one priority and something which we take very seriously.

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"The attraction has been thoroughly checked and all restraints are functioning correctly."

Ms Browne escalated a formal complaint in the days after the incident, fearing there could be "a fatality" if it happened again. However, she was unsatisfied with the response which she did not receive until 10 days later.

She also said the experience had put her off visiting theme parks in the future.

"I already had a fear of something like this happening on a ride, so honestly, I'm good now - I don't need to go on any rides like this again," she said.