A WOMAN who spent 20 minutes trapped upside down in a rollercoaster carriage has told how she feared a family day out would end in tragedy.

Emma Johnson, 26, and her ten-year-old sister, Amy, were left dangling 50ft from the ground, pictured, after the Mumbo Jumbo ride, at Flamingo Land, near Malton, ground to a halt on Monday.

The sisters, from Sunderland, had enjoyed a Bank Holiday outing at the theme park with their parents, Anne and Derek.

Miss Johnson, an administration assistant, said: “It was so frightening, I am still getting flashbacks. Every time I close my eyes, I can see me and Amy hanging upside down. I was terrified the restraints would fail and we would come crashing down, it was awful.”

Miss Johnson praised staff at the park for being quick to mount a rescue operation, but added that she would be giving Flamingo Land – and rollercoasters in general – a miss in future.

Park bosses said the ride malfunctioned after clothing got stuck in its mechanism. The Health and Safety Executive is investigating.