False leg found underneath ride

The ride is closing after 28 years

The owner of a prosthetic leg found beneath an Alton Towers rollercoaster is being sought by the amusement park.

The leg was just one of many bizarre items found near The Corkscrew, which is to be dismantled after carrying 43.5 million people since it opened in 1980.

Staff clearing the site also found underwear, a diamond wedding ring, 53 non-matching shoes and 604 watches.

Other lost property items included 800 pieces of jewellery, 237 mobile phones, thousands of caps and a prosthetic ear.

The ride, which reaches speeds of up to 44mph (70km/h), opened on 4 April 1980.

'Missing leg'

Riders are turned upside down twice within three seconds - which probably explains the large amount of lost items found below.

The Staffordshire amusement park said it was used to dealing with more than 5,000 items of lost property, such as car keys, money and mobile phones.

Russell Barnes, divisional director, said: "As the Corkscrew is the oldest rollercoaster in the park, we were expecting to find some strange items when we started clearing the Corkscrew area but a prosthetic leg definitely tops the list as the most bizarre.

"If anyone has any information on the missing leg, we would be keen to hear from them."

The rollercoaster, which was the first double-looped ride in Europe when it opened, will run for the last time on 9 November.