A mom was allegedly assaulted in a ride queue in front of her children at one of the most popular theme parks in the country. She refused to take the park’s goodwill offer after the incident.
According to a report by Birmingham Mail, Emma Rosall, who is also cop, was assaulted at Alton Towers in Staffordshire. She was off-duty at the time. The Merlin-operated venue is the largest theme park in the UK and the outlet explains that the incident occurred in the queue line for Nemesis Reborn.
Rosall claims she was attacked while with her 15-year-old daughter and 13-year-old son. She explained that ride staff addressed queue jumpers when they had already been waiting for an hour. “To the people who are traveling through the queue. We know who you are. We’re watching you on CCTV,” they reportedly said over the tannoy system.
The mom explained that one queue jumper eventually reached her and her kids, and she refused to let them through. Per Stoke on Trent Live, the man claimed he needed to get through because of a medical emergency. Rosall asked why he was sent for help instead of park staff.
At the point, the queue jumper reportedly attacked. “The next thing I knew, he punched me in the back of the neck. Then he tried to shoulder barge me out of the way. Finally, he grabbed my 13-year-old son and smashed him into the metal fence,” Rosall told the outlet.
The Queue Jumpers Stayed By Rosall’s Family For 40 Minutes
After the attack, Rosall claims they were forced to stand next to her attacker and one of his friends for 40 minutes as they made threatening comments.
When the family eventually got to the ride, staff allegedly told them to wait for park security so they could identify the attacker. She quizzed the ride operator on why security wasn’t already waiting, considering they had caused trouble already.
The park reportedly offered a paltry goodwill gesture of a £25 discount on their next visit. Per the Alton Towers website, an adult ticket is £68 ($91) if you buy on the door. Rosall blasted the offer as “insulting,” adding that her son was terrified. They allegedly left shortly after.
Staffordshire Police said, “At around 2pm on Wednesday, July 2, a woman and teenage boy were assaulted and then threatened by two men. They were all in a queue for the Nemesis ride. The woman was hit in the back, whilst the boy was pushed against a metal fence.”
Alton Towers also issued a statement. It reportedly said in part, “We take all guest concerns seriously and acted promptly upon being made aware of an alleged isolated incident. Based on the information provided by the guest, we provided a gesture of goodwill, which the guest chose not to accept.”