A TEN-year-old girl was left terrified after she was stranded at the top of a rollercoaster ride for more than 20 minutes

Abigayle Peverley, a pupil at Springfield Primary School, in Darlington, was on a school trip to Lightwater Valley theme park, near Ripon, North Yorkshire, when the incident happened.

Only a few minutes after the youngster boarded the Ultimate, Europe's longest rollercoaster ride, it suddenly stopped after climbing to one of the ride's highest points.

Abigayle was stuck hundreds of feet in the air as her teachers and fellow pupils looked on.

Her mother, Sandra, of Bishop Close, Darlington, said: "My daughter and a few others queued up to go on the Ultimate, but when it came to their turn the others decided not to go on, but Abigayle thought she would be brave and go on the ride by herself.

"The ride had climbed up a steep bank in order to drop down the other side, but then suddenly it stopped.

"She was up there for about 20 minutes. By the time she got off she was crying and very upset," said Mrs Peverley.

"She isn't overly keen on going on rollercoasters anyway, but now she has said she will never go on one again."

Teachers took Abigayle back to the coach and she was allowed to travel home with her older sister, Becky 11, after the incident on Thursday afternoon.

At the school assembly on Friday, Abigayle was presented with a bravery certificate in recognition of her ordeal.

A spokeswoman for Lightwater Valley said: "There was a problem on Thursday when the ride stopped for about 15 minutes. Rides are prone to breakdowns, staff are fully trained to deal with problems and staff stayed with the ride when it stopped.

"We understand the concerns of the family, and if passengers are distressed we will do everything we can to help them."