Trapped on the London Eye

Four hundred people were trapped on the London Eye wheel last night when it was stopped for urgent repairs.

Passengers spent an hour suspended in capsules up to 135m (450ft) above the ground at the South Bank attraction.

Staff spoke to the trapped tourists via intercom, instructing them to open emergency supplies of water, blankets and commodes.

Operators found a problem with one of the four tyres used to turn the wheel at about 6.10pm.

Each rotation takes about 30 minutes, but it took engineers about an hour to remove the faulty part. The wheel was then restarted with its three other tyres.

Liz Edwards, a London Eye spokeswoman, said: "We had two-way communication with all the guests, so we spoke to everyone to reassure them.

"There was a technical fault with one of the tyres so we thought the best thing to do was stop the wheel until it could be repaired.

"Engineers came along and the guests opened comfort packs with water, blankets and glucose tablets. There were commodes as well."

The passengers were offered warm drinks and a refund when they got off just after 7pm.