Off-duty police officer Emma Rosall said she was ‘punched’ and her son was ‘smashed’ into a metal fence
A mum who were attacked while waiting in the queue for ride Nemesis Reborn at Alton Towers has spoken out over the terrifying ordeal.
Off-duty police officer Emma Rosall was at the theme park with her 15-year-old daughter and 13-year-old son when she says she was subjected to a violent assault.
She said she was ‘punched’ in the back of the head by queue jumpers before her son was ‘smashed’ into a metal fence.
The 44-year-old said the perpetrators then made vile comments about what they wanted to do to her once she got off the ride.
Emma said: “After about an hour in the queue, staff started announcing over the tannoy that queue jumpers won’t be permitted to ride.
“They said “to the people who are travelling through the queue, we know who you are, we’re watching you on CCTV”.
“About 50ft in front of us was a group of men. You could see other gentlemen trying to get through the queue to them.
“Some of them started turning around after the announcement on the tannoy.
“But one of them came up behind us with a bottle of water. He said “oi, move”. He was quite abusive.
“I told him I wasn’t moving out of the way for him.
“He started to claim that there was a medical emergency and that’s why he needed to get past.
“He said he needed to take water to his friend. I asked why he was sent to help and not park staff.
“I asked why his friend couldn’t meet him at the exit for the queue. I held my ground.
“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.”
The family were soon joined by another of the attacker’s group, Emma said.
They then spent another 40 minutes uneasily queuing beside the thuggish pair, StokeonTrentLive reports.
She said: “I could hear him on the phone to his mates. He described what I was wearing to them.
“He was making threatening comments about what they’d do to me once I got off the ride.
“I told a member of staff that they’d made threats to assault me once I exited the ride.
“She asked if I would stay and wait for security to arrive so I could identify them.
“I asked why they didn’t have security there already – they’d been aware there was a problem for around an hour already.
“I didn’t wait for security and decided to go to customer service.
“They asked me to file a report of the incident, which I did. Then they gave me a reference number.”
Emma said her son was left ‘terrified’ and they left the theme park.
Alton Towers offered Emma a ‘gesture of goodwill’ following the incident on July 2.
But Emma did not accept the offer – which she said was discounted £25 tickets for their next visit – and wants a refund.
She added: “We’ve paid a lot of money and spent two-and-a-half hours getting there and we weren’t met with a pleasant experience.
“Our reward was a long drive back in the red-hot heat.
“I would have preferred a refund, because I don’t think we could go back now.
“My son was petrified. Even if they just offered us £25 back instead of saying we can come back for a discount.
“It’s just insulting. They’re a multi-million pound company.
“I saw the amount of footfall through there on that Wednesday, that would have been a drop in the ocean to them.”
Alton Towers said it is aware of Emma’s complaints.
An Alton Towers spokesperson said: “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.
“Providing a safe environment for our guests, including children and their families, as well as our colleagues, is always our number one priority.”
Staffordshire Police has since launched an investigation.
A spokesperson 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.”
Witnesses should call the police on 101, quoting incident number 429 of 4 July, or call Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555111.
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