Firefighters have rescued eight people from a roller coaster which broke down at M&D's theme park.

The riders were stuck around 20ft off the ground on the attraction, called Tornado, for up to half an hour during the incident on Saturday afternoon.

The fire service used a cherry picker to remove the riders from the roller coaster, near Motherwell in North Lanarkshire. No one was injured.

A fire service spokesman said two women, a man and five young people were rescued from the ride.

He said: "Local crews from Bellshill, Hamilton and Coatbridge were mobilised to M&D Theme Park at Strathclyde Park. The Tornado roller coaster was reported to have stopped and there were members of the public still in the carriages.

"On arrival the incident commander assessed the situation, which was the roller coaster stationary approximately 20 feet above ground level.

"It was confirmed eight members of the public required rescuing. A cherry picker was utilised to safely remove all eight people who included two adult females, one adult male and five youths. No injuries were reported."

The theme park's website says that "riders are taken on a whirlwind journey" on the Tornado, which is M&D's biggest rollercoaster.

A spokeswoman for the theme park said: "We can confirm that the ride stopped during a cycle and the automated safety procedure was immediately initiated.

"No one was hurt and all health and safety procedures were carried out. We have spoken individually to those involved and everyone is safe and well.

"The ride is now closed as we are carrying out a full investigation."