Dad watched helplessly as Coney Beach Pleasure Park ride derailed and trapped his kids

A dad has told how he saw a ride at a pleasure park "completely lift off the rail" with his three children onboard.

Matthew Baker, 44, had travelled from Port Talbot to Porthcawl with his partner and children on Wednesday for a fun day out at Coney Beach Amusement Park. But they becameinvolved in accident on the Wacky Worm ride which left a 14 people injured.

The family arrived at the busy funfair at around 5.15pm and were walking through the park when the Wacky Worm ride caught the attention of Matthew's four-year-old son. "My youngest is autistic and non-verbal," Matthew explained. "So it's difficult to know what he's interested in. When he showed excitement toward the ride, my teenage daughters offered to take him on."

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Promoted on the amusement park's website as "the perfect first thrill ride for the kids" and "a small introductory roller coaster that will get them screaming," the Wacky Worm is designed to appeal to young children, reports WalesOnline.

However, instead of a smooth, fun experience, Matthew said the ride had completed just one lap when a sudden "jaunting, jiggling" noise was heard. Moments later, it came to an abrupt halt before the back end of the train lifted completely off the rails, crashing down with such force that it bounced back up.

The impact was so powerful, Matthew claims, that a section of the security fencing surrounding the ride flew off - narrowly missing his partner, whom he pushed out of the way.

In what he described as "chaotic" scenes, Matthew and another man ran toward the ride, shouting at the stunned operator to open the gate. When there was no immediate response, a third man joined them, and together they "ripped" at the gate and "dived" to reach those still on board.

“My 15-year-old daughter was sitting next to my son," Matthew said. "She must've realised something was wrong, because she had wrapped her arms around him and shielded him from further injury."

Despite her quick actions, all three children sustained minor injuries. "My four-year-old had a busted lip - there was a lot of blood - and he has bruises on his body. My 15-year-old hurt her left knee, and my 13-year-old daughter, who was sitting behind them, hit her chin so hard her jaw is swollen and she's badly bruised around the ribs," Matthew said.

He added: "Beyond the physical injuries, all three of them are really shaken up. It's especially hard for my son, as I said, he's non-verbal - we can't know for sure if anything else is wrong."

In the minutes that followed the derailment, Matthew claimed staff members approached the ride to collect information from those involved, before reattaching the fallen fencing. Roughly 10 minutes after the incident, emergency services arrived, and shortly after that, visitors were told to leave the park.

"When police got there, people were shouting, 'You need to close this place down,'" Matthew recalled. "It was all a bit of a blur. People were demanding refunds, refusing to leave. There was a lot going on." He said what made the experience even more distressing was being asked to return to the ride with his children so police could take statements and check them over.

Matthew's family was among the 14 people injured in the incident. They were transported to Morriston Hospital for further examination, but have confirmed that they were cleared and sent home a few hours later.

"Physically, there was nothing major," Matthew said. "But mentally, it's difficult." Following the incident, South Wales Police said: "Officers were called to Coney Beach Amusement Park, Porthcawl, Bridgend at around 5.50pm this evening following an accident involving one of the rides.

"At this time we have confirmed that 13 children and one adult have sustained minor injuries. Some of these have required hospital treatment. The amusement park will remain closed tomorrow while officers and health and safety personnel carry out their investigation. Please continue to avoid the area to allow Emergency Services access."