Alton Towers are known to have had a few bizzare news reports throughout 2008 but this latest could possibly top the list. If you happen to be one leg short and have taken a spin on Corkscrew in your time then do read on!
The owner of a prosthetic leg found beneath an Alton Towers rollercoaster is being sought by the amusement park.
The leg was just one of many bizarre items found near The Corkscrew, which is to be dismantled after carrying 43.5 million people since it opened in 1980.
Staff clearing the site also found underwear, a diamond wedding ring, 53 non-matching shoes and 604 watches.
Other lost property items included 800 pieces of jewellery, 237 mobile phones, thousands of caps and a prosthetic ear.
The ride, which reaches speeds of up to 44mph (70km/h), opened on 4 April 1980.
Riders are turned upside down twice within three seconds - which probably explains the large amount of lost items found below.
The Staffordshire amusement park said it was used to dealing with more than 5,000 items of lost property, such as car keys, money and mobile phones.
Russell Barnes, divisional director, said: “As the Corkscrew is the oldest rollercoaster in the park, we were expecting to find some strange items when we started clearing the Corkscrew area but a prosthetic leg definitely tops the list as the most bizarre.
“If anyone has any information on the missing leg, we would be keen to hear from them.”
The rollercoaster, which was the first double-looped ride in Europe when it opened, will run for the last time on 9 November.
Looks like good old Russell Barnes could resist one last cheap marketing ploy before he packs his bags. I mean come on, if you lose a leg you’d sharp know about it. Whilst I’m not doubting that there are numerous items within the footprint of Corkscrew, I can’t for one second believe that they’ve only just managed to find this prosthetic leg after what I assume has been a long time. Surely maintenance would have came across this during the annual winter inspection? Surely it would have been reported and returned to its owner as soon as possible? This is quite clearly another cheap way of promoting Corkscrew’s departure.
I know people “fall to bits” on thrill rides but this is just taking the peas.