Blaze at Alton Towers theme park

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Some 50 firefighters tackled a blaze which broke out in a cable car station at Alton Towers theme park on Sunday.

Alton Towers said the fire was in one of three station buildings next to the Skyride cable car, which is used to transport guests around the theme park.

Skyride was closed at the time and no-one was injured in the fire which destroyed the cable car station's roof.

Guests were enjoying the Staffordshire park's Halloween festival, Scarefest, when the fire broke out at 1930 GMT.

One section of the park was evacuated as a precautionary measure, an Alton Towers staff member said.

'Assess the situation'

Alton Towers is expected to open as usual on Monday though the cable car will remain closed for the rest of the season which ends on 11 November.

The park will open at 1000 GMT but the Forbidden Valley area - which includes rollercoasters Nemesis and Air - may open later, Alton Towers' communications manager Liz Greenwood said.

"Once the firefighters have damped down, we have got to do a clean-up of the area and make sure it's not too wet," she said.

"We'll have staff in from 7.30am to have a look and assess the situation."

The cause of the blaze is under investigation, Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service said.