A father has spoken of his horror after a safety bar opened on a fairground ride just two carriages away from his children - however organisers have said that the incident posed no safety risk.

The dad, who wished to remain anonymous, had taken his two children to the Blackburn Mega Fun Park in Witton Country Park on Saturday.

He was watching his children on a ride which is similar to a Ferris wheel, however the carriages also spin.

He was filming from the ground at about 4.20pm when one of the safety bars on a carriage just two behind his children opened.

The ride, in which the coaches spin, was stopped after the passengers in the carriage screamed at the ride operator to get them off with the man holding the bar which flew up in to the air while the fair goers were at the top of the ride.

The father said: “You don't realise the gravity of it until you see it.

"As they have gone around, I was interested in videoing my children then I heard him screaming.

"As they were coming back down I said I needed to get my kids off.

"The guy in the cart was obviously going crazy saying he needed to get down.

"It was a terrifying experience.

"We then left the event within five minutes of that."

Nobody was hurt in the incident and people were able to get off the ride safely.

The father also asked for his children to be removed from the ride and the family decided to immediately leave the fair.

The organiser, Cowie Fun Fairs, said that there was a safety bar across the people's waist which remained in place and that the people on the ride were safe.

Owner of the company Alan Cowie said: "The ride has been thoroughly checked.

"The safety bar did come open but it was the secondary safety bar. The primary safety bar remained in place and there was no danger to anybody on the ride.

"It has been checked over and verified as being okay."

Alan also added that the ride is from a subcontractor however all essential safety checks were conducted before it's use.

The Blackburn Mega Fun Park was held from Thursday, July 15 and closed on Sunday, July 25.