Hurricane halts roller-coaster drive

TWO thrill-seekers have had their attempt to ride every wooden roller-coaster in the US thwarted by Hurricane Gustav.

Adrian Whitcombe and Ian Booth, from Long Eaton, have been caught up in efforts to evacuate the south US coast ahead of the hurricane's arrival ashore.

Gustav is lashing the coast of Louisiana with wind speeds of 110mph as it approaches land.

As a result, around 2m people living along the American Gulf Coast were evacuated over the weekend.

The evacuation zone covers Alabama, where Adrian and Ian had been due to ride the Cannonball at the Waterville amusement park.

Speaking from the safety of San Antonio, Texas, Adrian, 45, said: "We had just two of the final nine left to do and everything was running like clockwork."

"We've had to change our plans, which means at the end of the trip we'll be left with just that one to do."

Adrian and Ian are due back in the UK on September 10.

Their 'Total Timber Tour' has taken them coast-to-coast across America and through 23 states.

The last rides were meant to be the crowning glory of a 13-year quest to ride all 116 working wooden roller-coasters in America.

More than 80 people in the Caribbean were killed when Hurricane Gustav ripped through the islands last week.

Those evacuated include residents in New Orleans, which was left devastated by Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

Follow Adrian and Ian at www.coaster2coaster.com.