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Fire engulfs Sky Ride once again

The Cloud Cuckoo Land Sky Ride station has been completely destroyed in a fire.

Firefighters were called to attend the blaze at 10:30pm. Six fire crews were sent and brought the flames under control after around four hours.

No guests or employees were present at the time, and there have been no injuries as a result.

The station, situated in Cloud Cuckoo Land at the far end of the park near Rita and Charlie, was gutted by the fire.

It is the second such incident to affect the Sky Ride in less than two years, with another station's roof having been wrecked in October 2007.

In a statement, Alton Towers said: "The station has been destroyed and the ride will therefore not reopen for the foreseeable future.

"There will be cosmetic alterations to the park tomorrow as certain areas will have to be fenced off during the fire service investigation into the cause of the fire.

"The park will be open as normal from 10am with some rides open for early ride time at 9am."

Andy Kinsman, the assistant area commander from Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service, said: "We don't believe at this stage there's anything untoward with the start of the fire.

"However, we've got to now look at CCTV footage and look at the procedures for closing down the station that Alton Towers staff go through."

It is expected that the ride will be out of action for the remainder of the 2009 open season, which runs until the start of November.