First a slashing at Thorpe Park:

A man has been seriously injured in a stabbing at Thorpe Park following an altercation between two groups.

The man in his 20s was slashed in his stomach on a footbridge near the exit of the resort in Surrey shortly before 17:00 BST.

According to Ride Rater, someone has been charged with attempted murder over the incident and in a move that will surprise no-one, they have beefed up security.

The prevalence of knife violence is apparently on the increase

 

Second a fire at Blackpool has destroyed one of the rides on the pier

The Waltzer was destroyed (wikipedia) and a video of the Blackpool ride in action and some great animation on the title text.

Thankfully it appears no-one was injured at Blackpool as it was early in the day.

 

I can't say I was surprised by this news, and out of all the parks of course it was Thorpe.

The deep cultural issues in this country have gone too far. I can at least somewhat empathise with the idea of carrying a knife walking in the streets, especially when people exist who take a knife to Surrey on their day out to an amusement park. Violent criminals just won't heed the warnings will they? And now there's such a breakdown of trust in society that it naturally breeds more knife carrying.

Insane that now we will again be subject to such stringent searches just to enter a blokdy park for a family friendly day out.

11 hours ago, troll under the coaster said:

The prevalence of knife violence is apparently on the increase

That exact headline has been used for as long as I can remember. I feel there is a part of fearmongering going on.

Not much you could do there either apart from airport style security.