Merlin Entertainment shares dip on new Alton Towers ride scare

Shares in Merlin Entertainments dropped sharply on Thursday afternoon as reports of a Smiler roller coaster scare at its Alton Towers theme park, which only recently reopened after a crash that left five customers seriously injured.

The Smiler rollercoaster was stuck with its passengers trapped many feet in the air for around an hour, according to reports on social media.

However, an Alton Towers spokeswoman said the resort had stopped the Smiler ride "to investigate claims a piece of debris that had fallen from a carriage".

The company added: "At no time were guests on the ride at any risk and all were safely removed from the ride promptly by staff in line with our comprehensive standard procedures.

"As the health and safety of our guests is our priority, the ride will remain closed whilst the resort's technical team investigate the matter."

Shares in Alton Towers owner Merlin fell from 486p to 480p before recovering as the news was revealed to be benign.

In June last year, a collision between two carriages of the 14-loop ride left several passengers with life-changing injuries.

Merlin later admitted breaking health and safety laws over the crash, which was reopened in 2016 following the implementation of several new safety measures such as additional CCTV and enhanced staff training.