A new £4m (US$6.6m, AUD$8m, €4.6m) rollercoaster, which has been unveiled at the Flamingo Land Resort near Malton, North Yorkshire, UK, has been named as the world's steepest by Guinness World Records.

The 'Mumbo Jumbo' ride, which is the theme park's eighth rollercoaster, will climb to a height of 30m (98.4ft) before plunging 112 degrees, subjecting passengers to a gravitational pull in excess of 4Gs - similar to levels experienced by jet pilots. Gordon Gibb, Flamingo Land chief executive, said: "There's nothing like it in the UK or Europe. In fact, you'd have to travel to Indiana Beach in the US to come anywhere close - and even then, our coaster is steeper by one degree."

The opening of Mumbo Jumbo came just after visitors to the theme park were stranded on the Kumali rollercoaster for around 45 minutes after a power cut hit the attraction. According to The Press, a diesel generator had to be used to move the ride around the circuit in order to return riders back to the start. A spokesperson for the theme park told the newspaper: "What happened is that there was a lightning strike and the power outed. We have procedures in place for when this happens. We used a diesel generator to lift the ride up to the top of the incline and then once it got to the top, its own momentum took it back down."

Image: Ross Parry Agency