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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