Safety inspectors whave launched an investigation into a blunder which left day-trippers on the Palace Pier in Brighton inches from tragedy.

Passengers on the Turbo rollercoaster were left dangling perilously over a gap in the rails which had been removed for routine maintenance.

Officers from the Health and Safety Executive were immediately called to discover why the Christmas visitors were allowed on board in the first place.

They were at the pier interviewing staff and inspecting the ride, which remained closed.

One employee, an electrician from Nigeria said: "Many of the people who work the rides here are foreigners, mainly because English people won't do the job. The work is quite easy and you don't need that much training."

A ride operator from Albania, who has been in the country for four years said: "The job is not too hard. There is some health and safety training.

"Once you become experienced on one ride, you tend to stick to the same one."

A spokeswoman from the Health and Safety Executive said the incident was being treated as a top priority.

She said: "We act on fairground reports very quickly.

"We can't say yet when we'll be producing a report as there is still some investigating to do.

"Though one of the options is to issue an enforcement notice should something not be up to standard.

"We need to know why this has happened."

Eight workers from a London-based design firm were on the looping Turbo ride during a Christmas outing to Brighton.

The emergency brakes kicked in as the carriage hurtled towards the gap. The wheels of the front carriage were left hanging over the edge.

Staff used ladders to free the terrified passengers from their seats before they climbed down to safety.

General Manager Bob O'Connor declined to comment further on the near tragedy.