'We feared for our lives': Visitors stuck 'hung upside-down' on notorious Smiler ride at Alton Towers

Visitors to Alton Towers were stuck on the notorious Smiler ride at Alton Towers. Although the theme park staff insisted it was due to a minor fault, some theme park goers claimed they were stuck upside-down for up to 45 minutes.

People on the ground posted pictures to social media of the stopped ride - with some of those on it stuck in a vertical climb.

One poster who recorded the incident on Snapchat said: "Over a year after the accident and they're stuck again!!"

Another shot showed a technician climbing stairs to get to those trapped onboard while several onlookers recorded videos.

Kate Richards, who was on the ride at the time, told MailOnline: "It was absolutely horrendous.

"They left us hanging for 46 minutes; it took them 15 minutes to use a tannoy to tell us what the hell was going on.

"No exaggeration; we feared for our lives. The woman in the seat in front of me fully passed out.

"It's not good enough and there must be some serious problems with this ride."

An Alton Towers spokeswoman said yesterday's issue was a minor technical fault and the ride had done exactly what it was supposed to do and stopped.

She said: "At 16.26 yesterday The Smiler experienced a temporary stoppage as a result of a sensor detecting a minor technical issue.

"This was completely normal and what the ride, as well as others, are designed to do at theme parks across the world.

"At no point was guest safety compromised."

In 2015, life-changing injuries resulted from a crash on the rollercoaster, when a carriage with passengers collided with an empty test carriage.

Two teenagers had to have their legs amputated after the crash, while another passenger's knees were shattered and another suffered from a punctured lung and broken leg.