Thrill-seekers were showered with blood after a rollercoaster hit and reportedly decapitated a deer.

The animal had managed to sneak under a perimeter fence at Lightwater Valley theme park in Ripon, North Yorkshire, before stumbling onto the tracks of The Ultimate rollercoaster.

The ride is the longest rollercoaster in Europe and can travel at over 50mph.

At around 11.15am on Saturday, a deer was hit by one of the carriages, which can hold up to 38 passengers, reportedly decapitating the animal and covering some of the passengers in blood.

A spokeswoman for Lightwater Valley said: “We can confirm a young deer did unfortunately get hit by The Ultimate train [on Saturday] and was killed instantly.

“There is a large perimeter fence surrounding the theme park but occasionally wild animals do manage to stray onto the park during the night.

“After the incident, The Ultimate was closed for 30 minutes whilst the ride was thoroughly checked and then normal operation resumed.”

A similar incident occurred in 1994, when the rollercoaster hit another deer which had strayed onto the tracks.