Student Union says roller coaster costume was not about Alton Towers

Nottingham Students’ Union says the students photographed dressed up as a roller coaster did not intend to mimic the Alton Towers Smiler ride which crashed last year. 

The students “intended no reference whatsoever” to the crash at the theme park, in which dozens of people were injured, some very seriously. 

In a letter to The Tab, the union says “the fake legs did not reference the amputations in any way.” As a responsible news organisation, The Tab Nottingham is happy to publish the union’s view. 

The students have attracted criticism this week after their outfit was reported by The Tab Nottingham and other sites, including the BBC. 

The name of their costume was “7 legless” – but the union says that name was a reference to drunkenness and not to the victims who lost their legs after the Alton Towers crash last year. The crash has been in the news recently after the owners of the park were fined a record £5 million for their role.

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The union says the link that has been drawn between the word “legless”, the roller coaster costume and the incident at the theme park is a coincidence, though they have apologised “unreservedly” for the distress caused. 

In a statement yesterday, the union explained the students’ position as follows:

“The costume was in no way intended to reference the tragedy that occurred on the Smiler roller coaster at Alton Towers. 

“Its design was based on a traditional concept that has existed for several years and no reference was made to the Smiler by the students involved. ‘7 legless’ was intended to be a pun on the name of the bar crawl ‘7 Legged’ and the state of being inebriated.  

“The students involved further wish to apologise unreservedly to those affected by the Smiler incident for any offence or distress they may have unwittingly caused.”