Pleasure Island’s 1904-build carousel ride “is sold” according to auctioneers, despite the winning bidder reportedly claiming to have bid £180,000 in error.
The former Cleethorpes theme park’s contents were auctioned off in a two-day sale this week.
Auction fees and taxes equated to a 38% surcharge on the hammer price on all items, meaning that the carousel’s bidder is bound by a £248,000 charge.
The bid was the sole one received, and came via the online system provider Bid One This.
Auctioneer Carl Vince, of Grimsby firm Prestige said the ride was sold as far as his business was concerned.
“We are having a meeting with our online bidding partner today. However, as far as we are concerned the carousel is sold,” he told the Grimsby Telegraph.
“We are not sure how people can make such a mistake.”
‘Accidentally clicked’
BBC Look North journalist Amanda White described the winning bidders account of his alleged error.
“What happened was the man who had been buying other items went to close down the window on his browser, and accidentally clicked the bid button,” she said.
However, auctioneer Vince told BBC Radio 2’s Jeremy Vine programme that the bid would be cancelled if another buyer could be found.
“Unfortunately, as much as I want to sympathise to a degree, it’s not just that simple as just trying to shut a page,” he said.
“It’s a very clear button on the page in the middle of the page.”
Vince added: “We’re not in the business of ruining people’s lives, but any bid we see come through is a bid. We’ll cancel the bid if we can find someone to buy it.”
Radio presenter Vine appealed to his listeners to “come forward and save the day” with another bid and get the erroneous bidder “off the hook”.
1,200 lots
There were over 1,200 lots in the auction, which ran well into the evening in both days.
It took several hours for the extensive contents of the Tinkaboo Factory dark ride, a mainstay of Pleasure island since the park’s 1993 opening, to be sold off.
Virtually all of its individual items, which included signage, models, figures and animatronics, sold for three-figure sums.
The park’s peddle monorail was bought by the Twinlakes theme park for £8,000.
Buyers of the items have 30 days to collect their items, with many arriving on site on Friday to begin the removal process.
Most of the park’s large rides were sold to the travelling fairground industry and overseas theme parks last year.
The future of the Pleasure Island site is not clear, the showbar located at the park’s entrance remains in operation. However, the wider site has not yet been sold.