Passengers were walked off a world-famous Scenic Railway after the ride broke down.

Only a small number of people were said to be enjoying the thrills of the rollercoaster at Dreamland in Margate when it ground to a halt on Thursday afternoon.

They were escorted down from the ride by foot, with the attraction remaining out of use for the rest of the day but was up and running as normal this morning.

A spokesman said: “The Scenic Railway temporarily encountered difficulties on Thursday afternoon, and the ride slowed to a stop on the tracks.

"A small number of passengers were walked off the railway by our trained engineers while the ride was inspected to find the source of the fault.

“The railway is due to reopen as normal [on Friday], subject to the usual safety checks and testing before park opening.”

The park said the temporary issue was fixed very quickly.

Caroline Sims was at the theme park with her husband when it happened.

She said: "I'm not sure what happened. My partner was waiting on another ride. He heard a jolting noise and the carriage just stopped.

"From what I could see the people on the ride all looked really calm and the situation was well controlled by the staff."

Built in 1920, the Scenic Railway is Britain's oldest surviving rollercoaster.

It fell into disrepair when the attraction closed in 2005 and was then badly damaged by an arson attack in 2008.

Te Grade II listed ride came back to life in 2015 as part of an £18m project to reopen the amusement park.

It was announced last week Dreamland could be sold by Thanet District Council to the current lease-holders for an undisclosed sum.

The council cited "unsustainable" current and future costs as the reason for deciding to put the park back in the private sector.

But The Labour Party and Green Party have since said the "rushed decision" needs more scrutiny to make sure taxpayers are getting the best deal.

A special meeting to review who will own Dreamland will take place next week.

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