This giant 300ft waterslide could be coming to an English city centre this summer

A mock-up of how the slide would look once installed in Bristol. (SWNS)

A famous street in one of England’s biggest cities is set for the ultimate thrill ride this summer - a 300ft-long public waterslide.

Park Street in Bristol will be cleared of traffic and turned into a giant free ride once the ‘interactive art project’ raises enough funds.

Thrill-seeking residents will be able to hurtle down the well-known steep road - which has a seven per cent slope - on inflatable kilos which will glide along a tarpaulin sheet lubricated with soapy water.

The one-day event - titled Park and Slide - will coincide with the city's next 'Make Sundays Special', where central streets are closed to traffic on Sundays.

Amazingly, the slide has been given the thumbs-up by health and safety inspectors who tested a trial version last year.

The event is the brainchild of artist Luke Jerram, who specialises in 'living' installations and has an office on Park Street.


He was inspired by the scorching weather last summer and believes his latest work will allow Bristol's residents to 'reclaim the streets' and 'have some fun'.

'I'm just interested in thinking about our city in different ways,' said Luke, who needs to raise £5,600 to stage the event.

 

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'If you just imagine, you could put slides all around Bristol connecting neighbourhoods.

'Ideas like this are about transforming our cities. It is about reclaiming our city and using at as a blank canvas and to have some fun.'

The slide will be made of two rows of hay bales lined with a tarpaulin sheet which sits on a bed of foam matting to cushion the ride.


Luke, 39, tested a 50 metre version at the Ashton Court Estate on the outskirts of Bristol last October, where the relevant health and safety conditions were met.

He said: 'Bristol is also a good place to test these things out. To try and do this in London for example would be impossible.

 

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'Bristol has a sense of fun and is a creative place so it's perfect.'

He plans to install the full 90 metre slide on May 4, which it will be lubricated with a standpipe hose and Ecover washing up liquid.

Some of the materials will be donated so the actual cost of the slide will be just £1,163.


The total cost of staging the event on May 4 will be £5,631 and Luke is currently fundraising, with just £1,300 donated so far.

He estimates that between 600 and 1,000 people will get to use the slide during the day, with the ticketing system yet to be decided.

Describing the test run, Luke - who is not being paid and will make no money from the venture - said: 'I like the way participants have a look of pleasure and fear in their eyes.

'They seem to slide in and out of control with their body and forces of gravity. Personally, I found the little adrenalin rush you get at the end, quite addictive.'

Bristol City Council has been involved since the start of the project and is said to be 'supportive' of the plan.

Donations towards the project can be made at fundraising website Spacehive https://spacehive.com/parkandslide