Alton Towers vows to make accessibility changes after disabled woman was taken off rideBecky Cheetham
Alton Towers has confirmed that a woman with cerebral palsy is to be involved in the resort’s updated disability training after she was left in tears over treatment by staff.
Hannah Cheetham – who requires the use of a wheelchair – was “embarrassed” and distraught after a visit to Alton Towers with her sister Becky last week, where she was publicly removed from one of the resort’s rides and was left “angry and fed up due to the ignorance of staff”.
Despite being in her thirties, Hannah was only allowed to ride children’s rides.
During the trip on 28th September, Hannah – who visits the park annually as an “adrenaline junkie”, and has previously gone on every ride she wished – obtained a disability access band and then headed for the Smiler, but her sister Becky spotted a sign by the rollercoaster which said that users must be able to walk 25 metres unaided.
She mentioned it to a member of staff.
Becky said: “The lady then turned to her co-worker and shouted across, ‘She can’t walk’, and shut the door behind us. My issues with this situation is Hannah is a human. Please speak to her directly. Do not embarrass her by shouting out her insecurities across the ride for a crowd of people to hear.
“We passed three lots of workers, and not one of them thought to explain the rules of the ride before we got up there and had to turn around.”
Then they headed to Rita – where Becky lifted Hannah into a seat and workers strapped her in – but just as the ride was about to start, a member of staff asked if Hannah could walk unaided in case the ride broke down and she was told to get off the ride in front of everyone else.
They were later offered a refund after spending £40 per ticket.
Dear Alton Towers,Yesterday (the 28th September 2020) I spent my Birthday at your theme park. On your website, it…
A petition started by the pair online – who are both from Greater Manchester – now has close to 50,000 signatures.
The petition calls for: “All public facing staff should therefore undergo disability awareness training to prevent the distress we experienced yesterday and to enable all people, including wheelchair users, to have the same wonderful experience and fun day out.
“If disability awareness training already exists, this needs to be significantly improved.”
Now, Alton Towers has issued a public apology and has invited Hannah and Becky to contribute to improving staff disability training going forward.
Katie McBirnie – Head of Product Excellence at Alton Towers – said: “We are deeply sorry for this incident, which falls well below the high expectations we have for our employees. At Alton Towers Resort, we pride ourselves on being an inclusive resort and we really value the feedback that Hannah and Becky have given us.
“We have certainly listened and we want to do better.”
Alton Towers
A spokesperson for the park added: “We have invited Hannah and Becky back to discuss the changes we can make, and we look forward to showing them how committed we are to making sure that their experience is not repeated.”
In response to the invitation – which has been accepted by the pair – Becky Cheetham said: “We feel excited about the prospect of changing attractions for the better [and] we hope to help public facing roles improve their disability training and give disabled people a better experience.”
Becky also said that she had been told her YouTube video about the ordeal would form part of staff training.
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A new music showcase is taking place at a beautiful and historic Stockport venue
Danny Jones
A new live showcase is coming to Stockport town centre as part of a wider music, art and cultural celebration next month.
And by new, we mean the artists; if you went to the last edition, you’ll know it delivers some serious talent.
Teaming up with the likes of Manchester-based music magazine and promoters, The Rodeo, as well as ticketing platform Skiddle, Stockport is set to welcome the return of Mercury Climbing Festival.
This week-long celebration of music, art and culture around parts of the Greater Manchester borough’s historic old town, and there are some exciting names on board already.
As for Mercury Climbing 2025 itself, the multi-day festival spread across several locations boasts the best in native and Northern music, visual arts, and comedy.
Popping up across a total of eight different spaces, including the likes of the brand-new Stockroom, pubs, and headline music venue St Mary’s Church – quietly one of the coolest places we’ve ever seen a gig – you have plenty of reason to be excited about this one.
Speaking of St Mary’s, while artists such as local legends Badly Drawn Boy, Manc indie outfit The Covasettes and Riding The Low – fronted by actor Paddy Considine – are set to play the stunning ceremonial space, The Rodeo is also hosting its own dedicated stage at the church.
Highlighting emerging new talent on Saturday, 20 September, Manchester-based solo indie project Better Joy is set to headline, with Denver County Council (who featured on our Manc artists of the month round-up), Henry Webb-Jenkins, Katie & the Bad Sign, plus more to be announced in support.
The last time we saw a ‘Live at St Mary’s’ event, we can’t stress this enough: it was nothing short of an unforgettable experience.
You don’t get to enjoy a ‘religious’ gig experiences like this often…
Taking place from Friday, 19-26 September, the festival as a whole will transform Stockport’s historic Old Town into a vibrant cultural hub.
And it isn’t just music: there are local food and drink traders getting involved, artwork from the one and only Stanley Chow, as well as plenty of other entertainment.
Above all else, the event is not only steeped in SK and Greater Manchester’s rich heritage, but it’s a great way of supporting new art coming out of the region.
The Rodeo’s St Mary’s stage gets underway from 4pm and is scheduled to finish at 10:30pm, but the wider Mercury Climbing programme is an all-day festival that won’t end until late. You can grab your tickets right HERE.
Manchester’s very own Jamie Hutchinson announces new stand-up tour dates
Danny Jones
Manchester comedian Jamie Hutchinson has just announced arguably his biggest domestic tour yet, and despite plenty of gigs around the North, he’s playing just one hometown headline slot.
So you’d best be quick about grabbing tickets.
The local stand-up has seen a huge rise in popularity over the last few years, not only thanks to his regular gigging on the live circuit, but numerous standout podcast performances and, in short, by being one of the most amusing comic storytellers around – at least as far as we’re concerned.
Now set to embark on an extensive run of UK shows early next year, Jamie Hutchinson is getting back on the road with his latest material very soon.
Taking his new hour, Can My Mate Come, He’s Sound (see, even his titles are low-key genuinely funny) on tour, the crown prince of Gorton, a.k.a. ‘Mash’ himself, is playing venues up and down the country, including plenty here in the North West.
After all, he can’t drive, so best keep the long train journeys to a minimum, eh?
To quote Broadway Baby, who shared their positive words only recently, their newest project promises a “brand-new hour of unfiltered mayhem, questionable logic and emotional chaos held together by takeaway boxes and blind optimism.”
If that isn’t a glowing review, then we don’t know what is..
The Hot Water’s Green Room host and regular Have A Word podcast favourite delighted his crowds and newcomers alike with his record-breaking Waterslide tour, which ran from 2023 all the way into last year, and now he’s looking to repeat that same success. As it happens, multiple dates have sold out already.
With more than 700 tickets sold within the first hour of presale alone, it’s no surprise that the likes of Chorley, Chester (already gone) and soon both of his Liverpool shows are soon to be sold out.
As for his Academy One show on Sunday, 24 May 2026 – which is just about the biggest Manc venue he’s played to date – we expect it won’t be long before that one books up too.
We can always hope he tacks on extra dates on the UK tour, but if you’re a Jamie Hutchinson fan, you’re still best just making sure you secure your seat while you can. Grab yours HERE.
Let’s just pray he makes it home in time for his appointment with ‘Dr Catford’…
He’s yet to record a live taping of a special, but this is the kind of charming nonsense you can expect.