A teenager was left dangling 120ft over the sea without a safety belt after a blunder by fairground ride operators.

Billy Rogers, 15, was looking forward to the adrenalin rush when he took his place on the Super Booster at the end of Palace Pier in Brighton, during a family day out at the weekend.

But the thrill soon turned to terror after the ride took off before his safety harness had been locked in place and he found himself swinging precariously above the sea.

He and three teenage girls had landed safely after their five minutes were over. One attendant undid the harness ready for them to get off when, inexplicably, the ride took off again and suspended them in the air with just a shoulder strap to keep them in.

Billy's father Bryn, from Luton, ran to the ride operators and asked them to bring the swing down to safety but was stopped by a security guard and it was five to ten minutes before they did so.

He said: "I was beside myself. It may have been no more than 10 minutes but it felt like hours.

"The girls were absolutely hysterical when they came down and my son has been having nightmares and screaming all night long.

"He used to love all sorts of rides but I don't think he will ever go on one again."

Mr Rogers said a manager refunded all four teens the £20 for their arm bands but no first aid for shock or any type of after care was offered.

The irate father said he had spent more than £150 on the family that day and much more on other trips to the pier and was outraged over the service he had received.

He said: "Safety should be paramount but I just don't believe the pier is safe anymore.

"How can people who don't know how to operate dangerous machinery be left unsupervised?

"I have been to the pier many times but I won't be able to come back to it ever again.

"It is a shame because I have got lots of great memories there."

A spokesman from the Palace Pier said: "We are aware of an incident yesterday where it was necessary to activate the emergency stop procedures on one of our Rides.

"The customer was never at any risk and staff acted in accordance with the relevant Health and Safety procedures."