Alton Towers log flume boat washes up on Sheffield river ban
2024-02-24 09:08:05+00:00

A log flume boat that spent most of its life at the Alton Towers
theme park has been found washed up on the banks of a Sheffield
river.

A walker joked it must have "travelled some distance" in a post
online showing the boat next to the River Sheaf.

Owner Mick Foster said he had bought the boat after "a few drinks"
and it had been placed in his Sheffield garden about half a mile
(800m) upstream.

He is hoping to enlist the help of arm wrestlers to bring the boat
home.

In the initial Facebook post, people speculated how the boat ended up
in Sheffield - 37 miles away from the Staffordshire theme park.

Mr Foster quickly laid claim to the boat, telling people it had
floated out of his garden in Sheffield after heavy rain led to
flooding back in October.

"A friend said I should tie it up, but I told her it was really
heavy. Twenty minutes later it's gone," he told the BBC.

He bought the fibreglass vessel after Alton Towers closed the flume
ride in 2016.

The ride cars were auctioned off to collectors and enthusiasts, with
Mr Foster buying one from a reseller months later for £350.

"I thought, I'll have one of those. An absolute bargain."

The boat had lived happily on a patio in his garden next to the
river, before it made a break for freedom.

"Someone messaged me to say they had seen it down the back of the
railway tracks. I put a photo on and the responses were crazy. Who
has a log flume boat in their back garden?" he said.

Mr Foster's headache lies in how he can bring it back to his house -
and he has floated the idea of pushing it downstream to a nearby
park, where access to the river is easier.

"Luckily, I've got a good friend who's an ex-power lifter. He said
his lads at the arm-wrestling club in Chesterfield, they're going to
get together and give me a hand. We just need the weather to get
better," he said.

"I'll certainly tie it up this time."

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