Alton Towers: Girl with prosthetic leg removed from ride

A girl with a prosthetic leg was left "distraught" after being "frogmarched" from a ride at Alton Towers.

Amelia Eldred, 11, from Kingsbury in Warwickshire, had queued for two hours to ride Galactica but was removed by staff shortly after being seated.

Her mum, Michelle, said her daughter was left humiliated by the experience and it had knocked her confidence.

Alton Towers said it was "sorry for the distress" and spoke to the family about how to ensure it does not happen again.

Amelia was diagnosed with bone cancer aged seven and had a procedure called rotationplasty to reattach the lower part of her leg backwards so she could have a prosthetic fitted.

She visited the Staffordshire theme park last week with school and had checked the company's website beforehand for restrictions on the ride, then asked a staff member before joining the queue.

Mrs Eldred said a member of staff told Amelia to remove her leg as she boarded, which she was happy to do, and she was then seated and strapped in.

But another worker "just said no and removed her from the ride, gave her leg back" and "frogmarched her away" with "no explanation, no empathy", Mrs Eldred said.

"She has been very proud of being an amputee, she wears shorts, she doesn't cover it up... but [this] has affected her," said Mrs Eldred.

She added that while Alton Towers had offered the family a return visit to give Amelia "a positive experience", she wanted to know what changes would be made.

"I want to see and know how they are going to make this a better experience for people and children who have disabilities."

A spokeswoman for Alton Towers said: The health and safety of our guests and team is always of paramount importance, with our team being trained in the accessibility arrangements for guests with accessibility requirements.

"In addition to this, we conduct full accessibility reviews throughout the year working closely with manufacturers to establish where there is scope for adjustments to allow for greater accessibility.

"As a resort, we remain fully committed to listening, learning and adapting to the needs of our guests."

She added: "We really care about creating magical experiences that are inclusive for all of our guests and this incident falls well below the high expectations we have."

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