Alton Towers roller coaster riders have been pictured being led from the top of the Oblivion ride in what the theme park is calling a "routine stoppage".

Thrill seekers were pictured climbing down from the 'shuttle' which appeared to have stopped just before the 180ft drop on what has been confirmed as the hottest day on record for the UK.

Twitter user Dean witnessed the incident and shared pictures, accompanied by a description of what he had witnessed.

He said: "A Oblivion shuttle has stopped at the top, I’m sure the magical bottles of water will be straight out in this heat!

"Preparations are underway to evacuate the riders from the shuttle at the top, clearly the ride cannot be re-started at this point in time!

"Guests are now being evacuated from the top, they have remained safe throughout the evacuation, with bottled water provided, and a harness to walk back down to the ground!"

Earlier in the day, Twitter user UnicornHair posted a video of Oblivion performing as expected.

The ride first opened to the public in 1998, marketed as the 'world's first vertical drop roller coaster'. It is the country's third fastest roller coaster, reaching speed of up to 68 mph.

Following the incident, a spokesperson for Alton Towers, said: "Oblivion experienced a routine stoppage. The ride performed exactly as it is designed to do.

"In line with our well-rehearsed procedures, guests were assisted from the ride and were immediately given water, food, hats and all left happy to continue on with their day at the park. At no point was guest safety compromised."

The incident occured on the day temperatures topped 40C for the first time ever in the UK, as the sweltering heat fuelled fires and widespread transport disruption across the country.

A new record for the hottest day ever seen in the UK, of 40.3C, was provisionally recorded in Coningsby, in Lincolnshire, beating the previous record of 38.7C in Cambridge three years ago, by 1.6C.

The Met Office said 34 observation sites across England have provisionally broken the previous all-time record, ranging from Bramham, in West Yorkshire, to Charlwood, in Surrey, while a further five had equalled it.

A total of six sites, mostly in Greater London, saw temperatures reach or exceed 40C.