A new ride at Alton Towers was forced to temporarily close on its opening day after a burst pipe caused brown liquid to leak out near the queue entrance.

Toxicator, a highly anticipated toxic waste-themed ride, drew snaking queues of thrill seekers on Saturday afternoon (15 March).

Frustrated visitors claimed on social media that Alton Towers’ Forbidden Valley was evacuated on its reopening day after a drain started “leaking sewage”.

The Staffordshire theme park said that the new ride had a “brief pause in operation” after a burst pipe in an area near the ride entrance, which was “unrelated to the ride itself”.

An Alton Towers spokesperson said: “Due to an unexpected burst pipe near the ride, Toxicator briefly paused operation whilst our teams swiftly dealt with the issue. The ride and surrounding area are now fully re-open and welcoming guests.”

They added that the ride was paused for around two hours before the queue line was reopened to guests.

A park guest wrote on X/Twitter on Saturday: “What is going on today? Been here 7 hours been on 4 rides. Been forced to stand in human toilet waste in queue of Toxicator after 70 minute wait for then ride to close. Currently 4 rides open. This is a disgrace. What compensation do we get for this!!!”

Another added: “Something has gone very wrong with toxicator, we’ve been booted out of the queue with no fastpass.”

The toxic waste-themed ride in the park’s Forbidden Valley promises riders will “hang in suspense and feel the powerful forces at play, spinning you into a whirlwind of excitement and fear”.

At a record-breaking 78ft tall, Toxicator can accommodate more than 500 people per hour and is the only top spin ride in the world elevated above ground level.

Video footage shows brown liquid flooding the ride’s entrance from an overflowing drain.

One X user joked: “Toxicator. Sewage leak. There’s a certain irony about that.”

Some were quick to praise the park for quickly reopening the ride.

Riders of Toxicator will be seated back-to-back before being flipped round and held face down above a “bubbling pool of highly toxic alien acid”.

The latest instalment in the Nemesis story is themed around the newest technology from the shadowy organisation as they try to extract and separate toxic saliva from the Nemesis creature.

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