January 8, 2024

One of Clacton Pier’s most popular rides is going away for a significant makeover.

Twister, which was manufactured 22 years ago, will be totally refurbished, repainted and its lighting replaced.

The ride is currently being taken to pieces before being sent off to Halstead for the work to be carried out.

It is expected that it will return to the pier and be back in action in about three months.

Pier director Billy Ball said that the makeover is the latest to be undertaken and follows on from  Waltzer which returned last year after more than £100,000 was spent on it.

“Twister will be totally stripped-down and new features installed,” he added. “The floor and base frame will be staying while all the cars and arms will be heading off for the refurbishment.

“It is not as large a job as the one carried out on Waltzer and therefore it will be back much sooner.

“The scheme is part of our on-going programme to give some of our rides an exciting fresh look.”

Twister is a modern version of the classic Sonacase Twist. It replaced an older Bennett version which was a part of the attraction until 2001 when the pier was owned by the Harrison family.

The ride was traded in with the manufacturer in a part-exchange deal.

Other winter maintenance work being carried out at the attraction means that the Trampolines are currently out of action.

“The winter is the best time for these jobs to be done as there is less use of the ride deck compared to other times of the year,” said Mr Ball.

Pier rides have also been undergoing their annual inspections and have been given a clean bill of health by independent inspectors.

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