Major UK theme parked evacuated after reported 'threat'

Chessington World of Adventures was evacuated and closed after emergency services attended following reports of a threat, with the Metropolitan Police urging the public not to speculate while enquiries remained ongoing.

Visitors and staff were instructed to leave the resort on Leatherhead Road earlier in the morning of 8 November. Police officers and sniffer dogs were seen patrolling the surrounding area.

A closure notice said the resort was closed and advised guests booked to visit that day that their tickets would be accepted at LEGOLAND Windsor. It also said they could contact Chessington’s customer services team after 2pm. The notice apologised for the disruption and said a further update would be provided as soon as possible.

Chessington Buzz, a social media account that provides updates about the park, said there had been a park-wide evacuation and that emergency services were attending. The account urged people to let response teams carry out their work.

The resort had been approached for comment.

The closure follows another disruption at the resort earlier in the summer. Chessington World of Adventures and its resort closed because a water outage affected the surrounding area. The two closures were described as arising from separate circumstances: the earlier one was linked to the outage, while the cause of the November evacuation remained uncertain.

Chessington World of Adventures is on Leatherhead Road. The closure notice offered ticket-holders with visits planned for 8 November an alternative at LEGOLAND Windsor or the option of contacting customer services later in the day. The arrangements were set out while the resort remained closed.

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