A theme park rollercoaster ride carrying around 12 people malfunctioned on the first day of the new season.

Eastern Daily Press: Pleasurewood Hills theme park visitors were left stranded on the Wipe Out rollercoaster after a malfunction. Picture: Shaylee LeveridgePleasurewood Hills theme park visitors were left stranded on the Wipe Out rollercoaster after a malfunction. Picture: Shaylee Leveridge (Image: Shaylee Leveridge)

Pleasurewood Hills, near Lowestoft, opened its doors for the first time this year on Saturday.

But thrill-seekers were not so thrilled after finding themselves stranded on two of the theme park's attractions which had malfunctioned.

Pleasurewood Hills said they were both minor issues and that everybody on the rides had been safely taken off. The rides were back up and running on Sunday with no reports of any problems.

Shaylee Leveridge, 20, from Tuckswood, had spent the day at the park with her family to celebrate her sister's 11th birthday.

Eastern Daily Press: Pleasurewood Hills theme park opened its doors for the first time this year on Saturday, April 6. Picture: ANTONY KELLYPleasurewood Hills theme park opened its doors for the first time this year on Saturday, April 6. Picture: ANTONY KELLY (Image: Archant Norfolk 2015)

But at around lunchtime, she watched the Marble Madness rollercoaster, which fits four people on a single car train, stop in the middle of the ride.

She said she saw who she suspected were a father and daughter be lowered down from the ride in a harness.

Later on in the afternoon, at around 4pm, the 120ft Wipe Out rollercoaster also had to be evacuated after a train carrying around a dozen people had stopped at the lift on the bottom of the ride.

'They were up there for about 20 minutes,' Miss Leveridge said. 'The people who work there said it wasn't serious but they were rushing around with the harnesses. 'My mum said it's lucky I didn't get on that.'

Miss Leveridge said she had been to the park many times before and has never known incidents like this to take place, but added: 'The day in general was a bit rubbish, usually it's a good day out.

A spokesman from Pleasurewood Hills said he could not comment on the technological reasons for why the rides had malfunctioned, but added: 'It sometimes happens unfortunately but we try to keep it to a minimum.

'The ride functioned how they are supposed to but unfortunately things like this do happen from time to time.'

He said the train on the Wipe Out ride had been half filled when normally it would fit 30 people at full capacity.

'We got the people off the train and gave them a hot drink, they found it quite exciting to be honest,' he said, adding that the rides had not faced any issues since.