A popular ride at Thorpe Park has been closed after a near tragedy when an 11-year-old boy plunged from the attraction.

The incident happened last Thursday afternoon at the Egham theme park when the boy came out of the X:/No Way Out indoor "dark" rollercoaster.

Surrey Ambulance Service received a report at 5.20pm that a passenger had fallen in excess of 20 feet from the ride.

The boy, who has not been named, sustained lacerations to both shins and a minor head injury.

He was taken to St Peter's Hospital, in Chertsey, for treatment but was discharged at the weekend and is now recovering at home.

Officers from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) are investigating the cause of the accident with Thorpe Park carrying out its own internal inquiry.

An HSE spokesman said a prohibition notice had been served pending appeal on the ride, which is one of Thorpe Park's most popular attractions, requiring "certain improvements" to be made but was not able to go into further detail.

The owners have a period of 21 days to appeal against the notice.

The incident happened a day before a visit by Runnymede MP Philip Hammond and his family and follows in the wake of recent funfair tragedies across the country in which three people died.

A spokesman for Thorpe Park this week said the theme park, one of the UK's top ten amusement parks which attracts approximately one million visitors a year, said they carried out safety procedures "above and beyond" what is required by the law. She said: "Well-rehearsed emergency procedures were immediately put into place and the park's fully trained medical team were in attendance within minutes.

"The health, safety and welfare of all guests is Thorpe Park's primary concern and the ride was closed immediately pending a full investigation."

A statement from Thorpe Park said every ride is inspected daily before the park opens by an on-site team of specialist engineers and that the rides are also regularly inspected by independent consultants. The park also employs a full-time health and safety advisor.

X:/No Way Out was opened in 1996. Each train has five capsules which can carry two passengers with visitors secured with lap bars.

The spokesman declined to speculate on the cause of the accident, saying they were awaiting on the outcome of the HSE investigation.

With Thorpe Park just a month away from its busiest time of year over the school summer holidays, she said she did not believe the incident would have "any adverse affect on trade."

The recent funfair deaths have prompted calls for a safety crackdown on amusement rides.

An HSE spokesman said: "There haven't been any fatalities for some years and amusement park rides are classified as low risk compared to some other industries

"We need to wait for the outcome of investigations into these accidents before coming to any conclusions."